Inside the torment
by Sapphire1112
Summary: Set during the events of 'Awakening'. What goes on in Nikki and Jack's minds as it's happening? Some strong language and strong emotions at times. I do not own the characters or the Episodes 'Awakening'. I also do not own the songs.
1. Chapter 1

"NIKKI"

He could not cope with this. Without her. It had been bad when Leo died - but they had had each other Clarissa had Max so they had clung to each other, both metaphorically and physically and no matter how much he loved Clarissa and Thomas, the whole purpose, the heart of the Lyell Centre was Nikki. He knew it wouldn't function without her. He wouldn't either. He had to find her. Whatever it took.

 **Nikki**

Dark, dark, so dark. And cold. Where am I? Jack, Jack? Phone, is that a phone ringing?

 _"Save your energy, you will need it. You'll need your oxygen too, so stop screaming! You'll need_ _water. There is a bottle by your feet. Only take sips."_

No, no, no! Jack, Jack? help me! JACK! 911, no? Jack, come on, what is it? Jack, Jack's number, what is it? Breathe. Text, text Jack.

 _'Find me Please. I'm trapped. Buried.'_ and send. SEND! Oh no, no, no! Jack, help!

Why didn't I listen? He wanted to take me home, I should have listened.

 **Jack**

Got to find her, Nothing else matters. Just need her to be safe. Ok, stay calm. SHIT. Calm. I've moved the car, now sweep it for forensics.

Nikki was asleep. Jet-lagged? If she was asleep, she was DEFENCELESS! Need to punch something. No, calm down

"WHAT ELSE CAN I DO, EVA?"

Shouldn't have slammed the door, I made her jump. Calm down, Jack. Nikki has a better chance if I stay calm.

 _"This is my fault."_

No, it's not your fault, Eva. Because it's mine! I should have taken her home when I had the chance, then this wouldn't have happened.

"Oh no,. It hasn't been used since midnight.. Since before they left."

Her phone. She's gone. She's really gone. She's not going to just walk back in here and call me an idiot for worrying. I want to scream!

"What do they want? I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!"

 _"I don't know. They don't want you here. They don't want you helping us."_

They took her because we're trying to help.. She was trying to help. Just like she always does. It's how she usually gets into scrapes - by trying to help. Only this time I can't get her out of it because I don't know where she is. I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!

 _"You're angry"_

"What have I got to be angry at?"

Angry? Of course I'm bloody angry! They've taken Nikki. One of the few people who matters in this world! I don't even know if she's...No, I can't think about it. She'll be ok. I have to get her back. Luisa's your fault, Gustavo, the only reason Nikki came out here was Luisa and that's on your head. your fault so come on, Gustavo, throw the first punch...

 _"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for you. For Dr Alexander. She wanted to be a part of something. Now she is."_

Don't you dare! He's sorry? She wanted to be a part of something and now she is? NO, SHE'S NOT! Not Nikki, not now, not ever! Don't cry, no time for crying. Can't cry. Got to find Nikki.

"NO!"

 **Nikki**

Stay calm. Be logical. Think. Work it out. How big is this thing? 650 by 850 by 2,300 I reckon. How much air have I got? That's...1,270 litres of air. 21% is oxygen. 267 litres. A person at rest consumes 0,35. ok, 763 minutes, that's...13 hours. I've been in here...maybe...2 hours, so 11 hours. But the box isn't empty. I'm in here and the average volume of the human body is...13 litres less oxygen - 35 minutes less. Can't panic, wasting air. Slow breaths. Jack, Jack. JACK!

 **Jack**

"You know, if Dr Alexander doesn't come back, I might just put something else in this needle."

 _"No, you won't. She would. But you wouldn't."_

You don't believe me? Well, I WILL. If I don't get Nikki back safely. I WILL!

This idiot is offering me a cigarette! Why would I want those?! Cigarettes aren't going to get Nikki back, you pillock! Stop offering me them! It's useless! The whole lot of you are bloody useless and I don't give a shit how good or bad this is for you! You keep talking but all I can hear is noise. If you want to help get off your arse and do something!

 _"She's a foreigner. She has Money."_

If they want money, they can have money. I'll give them the whole bloody world if I have too.

 _"Or maybe they've already got what they wanted."_

Oh. You are such a prat!

"We've got nothing. Nothing, Thomas! We don't even know if she's still... "

DON'T. Can't say it. She's alive. somewhere - she has to be and who bloody cares what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico! Only Nikki matters.

 **Nikki**

Come and find me, Jack. Please. Stay calm. Don't Panic. That song, what is it? Mum used to sing it.

 **#** Sheila take a bow,

Boot the grime of the world in the crotch, dear,

And don't go home tonight,

Come and find the one you love,

And who loves you **#**

Find me, Jack.

 **Jack**

"We cannot search everywhere."

Be rational. Need to find her fast. Clarissa, talk to Clarissa.

"The only obvious skid marks match the tread pattern from Eva's car."

That's all? Yes, Clarissa, that's all!

 _"So, We've got..."_

"VERY LITTLE!... sorry"

Didn't mean to shout, but doesn't she understand that I need Nikki back RIGHT NOW! That this is my fault. I should have got her out while I still could.

 _"This isn't your fault, Jack."_

And there it is! Thanks Clarissa, but it bloody is! She agreed to inject their prisoner with insulin and I let her. It was another stupid reason to stay here and I agreed to it! A message. What?

'0686-47-712' a number. This is it. They want me to bargain with them to get her back.

 **Nikki**

The phone. the phone, where is it? It's ringing again. Got it

 _"Who are you? What have you done with her?"_

Jack?


	2. Chapter 2

**Jack**

Nikki? Oh, Nikki. That's her. She's alive.

"Nikki? Nikki? Jesus! Nikki, Where are you? I'll come and get you"

Surely, it won't be as easy as that, but I don't care. I'll walk through fire if I have too.

 _'Jack...'_

It is her. Her voice. She's so quiet. What are they doing to her? Are they hurting her?

"Nikki, thank God you're safe. Wait. How...how did you...?"

Oh She's crying. Oh God, she's sobbing. If they've hurt her...God I feel sick.

"Nikki, are you ok? Can you talk?"

 _'No'_

What the HELL are they doing to her?

"Nikki, are you hurt?"

Please don't let her be hurt.

 _'No'_

She's not hurt. Thank God, but she sounds terrified. Oh, Nikki. You're not hurt - but then what? I don't understand.

"Just tell me where you are...Nikki, is there...is there someone there with you?"

Please tell me, I need to know.

 _'No'_

Tell me, please just tell me. I need to know you're ok, Nikki.

"Can you tell me where you are? What can you see?"

I'm clutching at straws. and I keep missing.

 _'Nothing'_

What? Come on, baby, please.

"Any detail, the room you're in, anything at all?"

Anything.

 _'I'm not in a room, Jack.'_

What? not in a room? What the HELL have they done?

"Where are you?"

I'll come and get you. I will. WHEREVER you are.

 _'I'm underground'_

"What?"

They put her under the ground? I'm going to throw up. Shit! No, No!

 _'Buried. In some sort of box. Under the ground. Do you understand?'_

Yes, I understand. I wish I didn't. Buried? They buried her. They buried my girl. How could they? Nikki, No!

 _'Help me, please! I'm panicking. I'm running out of air..'_

Calm her down. Calm her down.

"It's ok, Nikki. We're going to find you."

 _'How will you find me? I'm going to die in here, Jack.'_

God, I feel sick. Got to reassure her. Stop her panicking.

"No! No, you're not."

 _'Don't lie to me. Don't tell me things you can't know. Can't do.'_

Shit. It's not working. She doesn't believe me.. She's so afraid. How do I calm her down from here? I can't hug her. She's crying. Oh, Nikki!

"Listen..."

 _'If I don't make it out of here, Jack...'_

No. Don't you dare.

"No, stop it, Nikki. Stop i!"

How can I stop her crying? Please don't cry baby, please.

"Did you text me? You're number?"

 _'No, the phone they left me, it doesn't call out.'_

She tried to call me.

"Then somebody else did, Nikki. Somebody texted me your number. They want me to talk to you. Do you understand?"

Please understand. I'm here and I'm going to find you. Whoever they are, they don't want you to die.

"If they wanted you dead, why let me talk to you?"

She's listening. She's calming down - it's working.

 _'He called me on this phone.'_

It's a he.

"Did you recognise his voice?"

 _'It sounded like his voice was altered, it sounded electronic.'_

Maybe not a 'he' then - could be anyone! At least she's calmer now. She sounds more rational - more like Nikki.

 _'Why would they take me?'_

"We'll know that soon. Whatever it is they ask - we'll do it."

If they tell me to stand on my head or jump off a cliff, I'll do it.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

Tell me everything. I need to know. I'm going to find you. I won't leave Mexico without you.

 _'Oh my God, Eva! Is she ok? Is she buried too somewhere? Oh my God...did they kill her?'_

Nikki please stop worrying about everyone else. Be selfish for once. You're the only one that matters.

"Nikki, no. We found her, she has a bump on her head. She's going to be fine. You mustn't worry about anybody else, ok?"

Only you matter.

 _'I was asleep in the car and then...I don't remember. I woke here. In the dark.'_

Oh God, Nikki. She's scared and alone in the dark. How could they do this to her?

"Do you have food?"

Pleas say yes.

 _'No. Water.'_

Shit. Better than nothing though.

 _'I don't think it's the water that's the problem, Jack.'_

Shit. Air. Think.

"This box, this thing that you're in. How big is it?"

 _'I've got about 9 hours, Jack.'_

Shit. 9 hours. She's got 9 hours to live. I've got 9 hours to find her I feel so sick.

 _'Maybe 10. The box is wood, Slats.'_

"Give me everything."

I need to know everything.

 _'Uh, I've reckoned about 850 by 650 by 2, 300.'_

That's my girl! Done all the calculations already!

"Do you know how deep you are?"

 _'Too deep to push up. I tried...'_

Of course she has. Damn them.

 _'...some dirt fell through, it was cold.'_

Oh God. Come on, Nikki.

"Was the earth dry?"

 _'It's not sand. It's not clay. It's dry earth...'_

Dry earth.

 _'...like the whole of this damn country!'_

Alright sweetheart, alright.

"Ok, what's in it? Can you taste it?"

Oh God, I'm actually asking her to eat DIRT.

 _'What?'_

I know. I'm sorry Nikki. I'll buy you pizza when we're back home to compensate.

"Taste it!"

 _'It tastes metallic.'_

Good girl.

"More metal than mineral?"

I need everything Nikki, I'm sorry.

 _'It's got a lovely bouquet, Jack, but I prefer the '74!'_

Was that a hint of sarcasm? Even trapped and buried alive she can still do sarcasm!

 _'Metal. Maybe iron. And salt.'_

"Salt. So maybe near the sea. Some kind of salt flats. Maybe..."

Where the HELL is the sea around here?

Nikki? Nikki? What the hell is that? Nikki? Stop screaming and tell me what's wrong. Please, shit she's so frightened. Someone's hurting her. Nikki? I'm here, I'm going to find you. What's happening? Talk to me, please. What the HELL are they doing to her?

"Are you ok? Nikki? Nikki, are you ok?...Nikki, Nikki, are you ok?"

 _'I'm ok.'_

Oh, thank God.

"What was that?"

 _'I don't know. It hasn't happened before. It might be an industrial site.'_

Shit. My heart bloody stopped.

"If it happens again, record the time. Maybe we can build up a pattern."

Anything I can say to help, I will.

 _'If we're relying on that...'_

Shit, Nikki. No. I didn't mean it like that!

"No We're not. We're not."

I think she's panicking again. Lie to her. Give her hope.

"Everyone is already looking for you. The police..."

Idiots. Cigarette wielding pillocks.

"...The army. The British Embassy..."

Big it up. Because they should be searching for her. Shit, they should drop everything to find her, because only she matters.

"There's helicopters everywhere!"

 _'Jack...'_

Shit I think she's crying again. Oh God, Nikki.

"I've got your number. I'm going to track it."

Why the HELL didn't I think of that before?

 _'The phone's been tampered with. I don't think it will track.'_

Of course it has. Damn! Shit!

"We'll find you. I WILL FIND YOU!"

Because I cannot cope with the thought of not finding you, Nikki. I JUST CAN'T.

"I'll call you every half hour ok?"

I'm going to get you through this.

 _'No don't. The battery. My air.'_

Shit.

 _'Only call if you've got something to tell me.'_

I've always got something to tell you. Something I never say.

"Nikki..."

No, I can't - not now. It'll sound like I'm saying a last goodbye.

"You're not alone."

 _'I'm in a wood box, under the earth, Jack. I'm quite alone.'_

No you're not, baby. I'm always here. right by your side - even when I'm not.

She's gone. I want to call her back, right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Nikki**

The phone, the phone. Where is it? Oh, got it.

 _'Who are you? What have you done with her?'_

Jack? That's Jack. The one voice I wanted - no, needed to hear and he rings me. But he doesn't know he's ringing me. He sounds so lost, so helpless, so desperate. He doesn't know where I am and he's scared.

"Jack..."

I'm here, Jack, just on the other end of the phone. I wish I was with you. I wish I'd listened to you before.

 _'Nikki, Nikki? Jesus..."_

He sounds confused. Hopeful. Desperate.

 _'...Where are you? I'll come and get you.'_

I wish you could. More than anything, Jack. I wish you could come and get me. But I don't know where I am. I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM!

"Jack..."

 _'Nikki, thank God you're safe. Wait...how...how did you...?'_

He thinks I'm safe. How can I be safe when I'm not with him? I don't feel safe. But his voice is helping. It is. And it isn't. I want to see him. I want my best friend. I want him.

 _'Nikki, are you ok? Can you talk?'_

"No" I can't talk. I want to - more than anything. But I'm running out of air.

 _'Nikki, are you hurt?'_

"No." No, Jack I'm not hurt - at least I don't think so, but it hurts not being with you. Hearing how scared you are because you don't know where I am. I don't know either. I'm scared too, Jack. I'm so scared.

 _'Just tell me where you are...'_

I don't know, Jack, I'm sorry.

 _'Nikki...is there...is there someone there with you?'_

"No" No, Jack. I'm alone. All alone.

 _'Can you tell me where you are? What can you see?'_

"Nothing"

I can see nothing. Only the dark.

 _'Any detail, the room you're in, anything at all.'_

He's clutching at straws.

"I'm not in a room, Jack."

I'm in a bloody hole in the ground.

 _'Where are you?'_

If I knew, I'd tell you.

"I'm underground" Under the bloody ground - I know that much. I just don't know WHERE.

 _'What?'_

"Buried. I'm in some sort of box, under the ground. Do you understand?"

Please understand Jack. It makes me feel sick every time I have to say it. Think it. Understand how scared I am right now. How much I need you. I know you're scared too, but I need you, Jack.

"Help me, please. I'm panicking. I'm running out of air."

 _'It's ok, Nikki. It's ok. We're going to find you.'_

He's desperately trying to help. I know he is, but I'm so scared. I'm scared that I'm never going to see you again, Jack.

"How are you going to find me?"

I could be ANYWHERE.

"I'm going to die in here, Jack."

And I can't bear the thought of never seeing you again.

 _'No. No, you're not'_

Of course I am, Jack and it's my fault - I should have listened to you. I should have let you take me home, like you wanted too. I can't cope with this. I need to reverse time. Somehow.

"Don't lie to me. Don't tell me things you can't know. Can't do."

I can't cope with it, Jack. Because I need this all to be a bad dream so much. I need this to be a nightmare - one that you wake me up from, Jack.

Wake me up. Please.

 _'Listen...'_

No. I need to say this. Just in case. It might be the last chance I ever get.

"If I don't make it out of here, Jack..."

In case I don't...

 _'No, stop it, Nikki. Stop it.'_

He won't let me. He won't hear it. I need him to KNOW. Maybe he knows already. I hope he does.

 _'Did you text me your number?'_

"No, the phone they left me, it doesn't call out."

I tried, Jack. I tried to call you. I tried to text you. You were the only person I wanted to talk too.

 _'Then somebody else did, Nikki. Somebody texted me your number. They WANT me to talk to you._ Do _you understand?'_

I understand, Jack. You're talking sense. Letting me talk to you is not natural for a cold-blooded killer.

 _'If they wanted you dead, why let me talk to you?'_

"He called me on this phone."

If it was a 'he'.

 _'Did you recognise his voice?'_

"It sounded like his voice had been altered, it sounded electronic. Why would they take me?"

What am I worth to THEM? They don't even know me. What can they possibly gain from taking me?

 _'We'll know that soon. Whatever it is they ask, we'll do it.'_

I know you will, Jack. You'd walk the earth end-to-end to save me, if you had too. Just like I'd do for you.

 _'Is there anything else you can tell me?'_

Think, Nikki, think! I was in the car and... EVA!

"Oh my God - Eva! Is she ok? Is she buried too, somewhere? Oh my God...did they kill her?"

 _'Nikki, no. We found her. She has a bump on her head. She's going to be fine. You mustn't worry_ _about anybody else, ok?'_

Why not, Jack? I've got nothing ELSE to do. I'm worried about you. About how you're coping.

"I was asleep in the car, and then...I don't remember. I woke here. In the dark."

In the cold. In the dark. Alone and without you.

 _'Do you have food?'_

No. and I'm so hungry already. I bet you haven't eaten either. I bet it's never even crossed your mind since you found I was missing. You should look after yourself better, Jack. We'll be having words about it when we get home, if you don't.

"No. Water."

At least they gave me water.

"I don't think it's the water that's the problem, Jack."

I can sip the water. make it last a bit longer. My air, Jack. That will probably run out first.

 _'This box, this thing that you're in. How big is it?'_

"I've got about 9 hour's, Jack."

I worked it out. 9 hours to live.

"Maybe 10. The box is wood. Slats."

The last 9, 10 hours of my life in a wooden box!

 _'Give me everything.'_

I'm giving you my whole life, Jack- what's left of it anyway. Every last breath. Literally! All 9, 10 hours of them.

Be Logical , Nikki. He wants the logic.

"Uh, I've reckoned 850 by 650 by 2, 300"

 _'Do you know how deep you are?'_

"Too deep to push up. I tried." Deeper than I've ever been. Deeper than I THOUGHT I would ever be - at least while I'm still breathing. I'm breathing dirt.

"Some dirt fell through. It was cold."

Cold and dry.

 _'Was the earth dry?'_

Yes. Too dry.

"It's not sand. It's not clay. It's dry earth. Like the whole of this damn country."

 _'Ok, what's in it? Can you taste it?'_

"What?"

Seriously? He's asking me to EAT the dirt! You so owe me, Jack! Pizza, chocolates, flowers, a bloody à la carte meal!

 _'Taste it.'_

I'm tasting it, Jack! I'm EATING the bloody dirt for you.

"It tastes metallic."

 _'More metal than mineral?'_

Jack, you are really pushing it now! I'm going to make you eat a WHOLE BUCKET of dirt when we get home! Out of my garden!

"It's got a lovely bouquet, Jack, but I prefer the '74! Metal. Maybe iron. And salt."

You OWE me!

 _'Salt. So maybe near the sea. Some kind of salt flats. Maybe.'_

SHIT! What's that? Oh my God, they're coming to kill me! What's happening? Jack, help me! Jack, I don't like it, I'm scared, so scared! JACK!

 _'Nikki? Are you ok? Nikki? Nikki, are you ok?... Nikki? Nikki, are you ok?'_

"I'm ok."

I'm ok, Jack. I don't know what the hell that was, but I'm still her. For now anyway.

 _'What was that?'_

"I don't know. It hasn't happened before."

It sounded mechanical. Machinery of some kind.

"It might be an industrial site."

 _'If it happens again, record the time. Maybe we can build up a pattern.'_

Logical as ever, Jack! But my air is running out. I could well be dead before it happens again!

"If we're relying on that..."

There is NO hope!

'No, we're not. We're not.'

I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Jack. EVER. But I wish you were in here with me. That would give me hope. Hope that I could actually get out of here alive.

 _'Everyone is already looking for you. The police, the army, the British Embassy...'_

I highly doubt that, Jack. He's trying to make me feel better. I'm not important enough to THEM. He probably thinks they should be doing all that though.

As far as you're concerned, Jack, you think that everyone should drop everything to save me. You're sweet like that.

 _'There's helicopters everywhere!'_

"Jack..."

Find me, please. I only want you.

 _'I've got your number. I'm going to track it.'_

Bless you, Jack.

"The phone's been tampered with. I don't think it will track."

I suspect he already knows that. But it won't stop him trying. Anything - any possible way to find me, No matter how hopeless. He will never give up on me. Thank you for that, Jack. That's the hope I need.

 _'We will find you. I WILL FIND YOU.'_

Knowing you - you will stay here for the rest of your life if you have too. Even if you are just looking for a body. My body. I love you for that, Jack. You will take me home. One way or the other

 _'I will call you every half hour, ok?'_

I wish you could, Jack. You are my rock. Just hearing your voice helps me. Jack, you ARE hope to me.

"No, don't. The battery. My air."

I need to be able to talk to you for as long as possible. Until my last breath, if I can. My battery can't run out before my air does. Please.

"Only call if you have something to tell me."

 _'Nikki...'_

He's going to say it!

 _'...you're not alone.'_

He WAS going to say it, he WAS.

You were going to say the 3 words I long to hear you say Jack, weren't you? But you're afraid too. In case saying those words NOW somehow means that we'll never see each other again - not while I'm still breathing. You're scared that THOSE words mean I'm going to die. That's why you stopped me from saying them before. I understand that and I'm scared of that too, Jack. But I still wish you'd say it. I wish you'd let me say it.

"I'm in a wood box, under the earth, Jack. I'm quite alone."

Quite alone without you.

I need to hang up now. Got to make myself hang up. Save my battery. My air. I can't say 'Goodbye' though. I just CAN'T. So I'll just hang up.

We'll talk again, darling, I promise. We have to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Jack**

She's calling me back! Nikki!

"Nikki..."

 _'If you tell anyone, she'll die.'_

That's not her. Shit. No! If you kill her YOU will die. I'll make sure of it.

 _'If you discuss anything I tell you, you will never find her.'_

I bloody will. If it's the last thing I ever do. I will find her.

 _'No police. No armies. No authorities.. We have people everywhere. We'll know.'_

Damn you. Tell me where she is.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

What has Nikki ever done to you? To anyone. She's never hurt anyone.

"Money? I can get money, if it's not a crazy number. I can get it to you quickly. Just tell me how much."

Because I will give you all the money I can find. All the money in the world if you give her back to me. Nothing else matters. Nothing except Nikki.

 _'How much can you get?'_

Of course it's money. That's what it always comes down too. Money! Think of a big, random number.

"Maybe $100, 000."

 _'Is that all. Is that what she's worth to you?'_

No, you arsehole! She's worth way more to me than money!

"No, no, no. I can get more I can get more. I just need to figure out how. There isn't much time."

Nikki doesn't have much time.

"Uh, maybe if you'll get her out of there, then..."

 _'It's not money.'_

"Then what is it? Tell me."

I'll do ANYTHING.

 _'If you want to see her again, you'll do exactly what we tell you...'_

"No wait,wait..."

They've gone. They've GONE! You didn't tell me what I have to do and she's running out of time!

"Shit! Shit!"

What do I do? I don't know how to save her Gustavo. He's searching outside.

"Gustavo, listen...I spoke to her, to Nikki"

She's alive. For now.

"She's underground, somewhere, in a box."

I can't believe this is happening.

Wait - he's found something.

"What is it? What have you found?"

Tell me, Gustavo. Talk to me, please.

 _'Just wait. It might be nothing.'_

I need it to be something. I need it to be her. Come on. Tell me, just tell me.

"Tell me. What's there? What's happening? What is it? What can you see?"

Can you see Nikki?

 _'It's wood. It's a wooden box.'_

"Please...please..."

Please let it be her. Please let it be Nikki. I need her back. I need her safe. I'll do anything. It HAS to be her.

"Is she ok?"

Please.

 _'Forget it. It's not her.'_

Shit. It has to be.

"What do you mean? Is it a body?"

As long as it's not her body - I need her back alive.

 _'It's no one. It's gums.'_

Damn. Shit. I need you safe, Nikki, but I know you're not.

Clarissa's doing what she can in London, but it's not much. Thomas is on the way but Nikki will be dead before he arrives. I'm on my own and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to save her.

 _'I told you, you won't find her...'_

Arsehole.

"You piece of shit...We'll go. We'll...We'll leave this place. Whatever. Whatever you say. What do you want?"

Please just give me Nikki back. I'll take her away from here and let you get on with it. Whatever IT is. Anything. Please just let me take her home. Alive.

 _'There's a man being held at the regional Police Headquarters. You have access to that man. Get him_ _out. Deliver him to us. El Buitre. Or she will die in there.'_

Oh shit! Now I understand. 'Love is weakness'. That's what Gustavo told Nikki. They found my weakness. They took her to make me co-operate and now my beautiful Nikki is going to die, afraid and alone if I can't find a way to break a dangerous prisoner - a murderer out of jail. I want to cry. Scream. Gustavo was right. But I can't cry because I'll never stop. So I'll laugh instead. Nothing about this is remotely funny, but I can't cry. Anything else though. Throw the phone across the floor. Kick the walls as hard as I can. but I won't cry. She's not dead yet. Oh shit, have I broken the phone? I can't break the phone. It's my only link to Nikki.

Buried. She's buried. People have got out of worse predicaments. Have they? They must have. Internet. Ways to escape being buried alive. There must be something.


	5. Chapter 5

**Nikki**

I wish I hadn't hung up now. Find me, Jack. I know you will never give up - no matter what.

Got to take my mind off this.

 _Singing:_

 _No matter what they tell us  
No matter what they do  
No matter what they teach us  
What we believe is true _

I believe in you, Jack. I believe you will find me, alive or dead. I believe you will never ever give up.

 _Singing:_

 _No matter what they call us  
However they attack  
No matter where they take us  
We'll find our own way back _

I believe we have a future. I do. As best friends. Maybe even as lovers. Whatever it is, it's together. So I WILL get back to you, no matter what they do to me. Where ever I am. This is just a scrape and we will get through it. WE are going home.

 _Singing:_

 _I can't deny what I believe  
I can't be what I'm not  
I know I'll love forever  
I know no matter what _

I believe in OUR future. I know I can't function without you. I know you can't function without me either. I know I love you and I can't stop.

 _Singing:_

 _If only tears were laughter  
If only night was day  
If only prayers were answered  
Then we would hear God say_

I know you have been crying, Jack. Just like I am. I know you are trying your hardest not to cry but they are tears of terror. Fear of what you might lose. Tears of helplessness because you don't know what to do. I also know that you don't want me to know that you're crying. You're trying to protect me. You don't want me to know how much you are hurting. But I do know, Jack. I know you.

 _Singing:_

 _No matter what they tell us  
No matter what they do  
No matter what they teach us  
What we believe is true _

I don't know why they took me, but I remember what Gustavo said. 'Love is weakness'. He said they will use what they know about us - if it is them who took me. Maybe they found your weakness. Me. If that's true, you probably thing that this is your fault. It's not. Gustavo is wrong, Jack. Loving you is my strength.

 _Singing:_

 _And I will keep you safe and strong  
And shelter from the storm  
No matter where it's barren  
A dream is being born _

You shield me from everything, Jack. Whenever you can. But maybe there are some things I have to protect myself from. I am strong because you make me so and I will get through this - just to be back with you.

 _Singing:_

 _No matter who they follow  
No matter where they lead  
No matter how they judge us  
I'll be everyone you need _

Things are so strange here. So different from home. I know that you are probably struggling to understand why other people here don't think finding me is that important. But they are not you, Jack. There are so many people missing. I'm just another one to them but YOU are looking for me, Jack. You are the only one I need.

 _Singing:_

 _No matter if the sun don't shine  
Or if the skies are blue  
No matter what the end is  
My life began with you_

Is the sun shining? Have you even noticed? I bet you haven't. I bet you wouldn't have a clue if I asked you what the weather has been like since I went missing.

My life was going at a steady but boring pace when we met. I didn't totally understand you at first - what you were about. Because I'd never met anyone like you before, Jack. But my life began moving again that day.

 _Singing:_

 _I can't deny what I believe_

I know we'll find each other again. I belong with you.

 _Singing:_

 _I can't be what I'm not_

 _I'm no good without you._

 _Singing:_

 _I know, I know_

I know that you're never going to let me out of your sight again.

 _Singing:_

 _I know this love's forever_

And forever doesn't end today.

 _Singing:_

 _That's all that matters now  
No matter what!_

Wood slats. Maybe I can pull it apart. Get my fingers in a gap and pull. Urgh. Dirt, more dirt. Oh my God, a scorpian! It's on me, it's on me. No, no, no! Please go away. Get off me, get off me! It's off. Breathe. No it's climbing back on. Shit. Oh my God. Oh my God. Jack, please come and get me, there's a scorpian crawling on me. Shoe, My shoe. Get off, get off. Squash it, Squash it! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I had too.

"Oh God, I hate spiders."


	6. Chapter 6

**Jack**

 _'Hello?'_

"Nikki, are you ok?"

I need you to be ok.

 _'No. Wait...'_

Shit. she sounds hysterical. Nikki, I'm here, sweetheart. Calm down.

"Nikki"

 _'Jack, I've got to get out of here right now!'_

I know darling, I know. Oh God, she's sobbing. What the hell are they doing putting her in a wooden box in the ground like that.

"I know, I know. Nikki, I know."

I know that you are terrified and I hate that I can't stop your pain - end your fear right now.

 _'No , I mean right now, Jack!'_

If I could darling, I would get you out right now. Hell, I would change places with you in a heartbeat. I'm so sorry that I can't. It's ok, darling. Please calm down.. Shit, I've never heard her THIS scared before. I'm here Nikki, I'm here, darling.

I think she's calming down.

 _'Any luck with tracking this phone?'_

She sounds calmer.

"You were right about the phone. It's hacked. Eva says they've found phones like it in cartel safe houses."

 _'Have they contacted you?'_

I never thought I'd be in this position - bargaining for the life of someone I love. The woman I love. Yes. They want me to release a mass murderer back into the community. He'll probably go on to kill other people if I break him out, but it's the only way I can save you. I can't tell her that though - she will tell me not to do it, no matter how frightened she is. She always puts other people first.

"We're negotiating."

No, we are not. Because I will do anything they ask, to free you - to save you, Nikki. It's a no brainer and that's not negotiating.

 _'You're what?'_

Damn! Should have just said 'yes'. She knows me too well. She knows I'd do anything for her.

 _'How much do they want?'_

She thinks they want money. Let her think that.

"Don't you worry about it. We are nearly there."

We're not. But I WILL get you back. I WILL.

 _'And if you're not?'_

Damn. She knows I'm lying. Shit.

 _'If you can't...'_

Don't Nikki, please. I'm going to cry. I can't bear the thought of losing you. I can't.

 _'You've looked, haven't you, Jack?'_

"Looked at what?"

 _'Come on, Jack...'_

She knows me so well.

 _'I know you, the last of the boy scouts. You've searched on the internet, haven't you? 101 death-defying escapes...'_

Yes, of course I bloody have, Nikki. I love you so much and I need my best friend back. I need you back.

"Alright. But you're not going to like it. We don't know how deep you are, so it's a one-shot thing."

At least she is not giving up. She's trying to get home too.

"You gotta break through the top of the box somehow. You've got to get your feet up, kick through it. Enough space to let the earth in, enough to get your head out."

I can't believe we're having this conversation. Death-defying escapes!

 _'Go on...'_

Anything to give her hope.

"Then you wait. Let the box start to fill with earth. You've got to wait as long as you can. Then cover your face with whatever you've got, anything at all, so that the earth doesn't suffocate you as you push up."

 _'And that's it?'_

You make it sound like it's nothing. But it's not nothing, Nikki. I don't know which is worse. You running out of air in that box or being suffocated by the earth because you were trying to escape. If it doesn't work, it will kill you and it will be my fault for telling how to do it.

"Keep going up. Don't stop."

Because I need you back alive.

 _'Because I've got no way back down. The box will be full of earth.'_

She understands.

 _'I see what you mean. It is a one-shot thing.'_

Don't try it unless you have to , baby. Please. Let me try first. Give me a chance to find you first.

"It's not going to come to that though, Nikki."

Because I am going to find you.

 _'Jack... I don't want to be buried.'_

Shit. Damn them! I'm going to get you out of there, Nikki. If it's the last thing I do, I will get you out.

"You're not. We're getting you out."

I promise.

 _'No. That's not what I mean.'_

Oh, Shit. I think she's talking about her death. She's talking about when she dies. Oh, Nikki, don't. I don't want to talk about that. I won't let you die. I won't.

 _'When I die, whenever it is...make sure I'm cremated, ok?'_

Oh, God Nikki. Please don't, baby. I can't cope with the thought. Please don't. Don't. No, no, NO!

 _'...In my will, it says that I want to be buried beside my mother, but I don't. I don't want to be under_ _the ground. Please!'_

Oh God. She's actually just asked me to CREMATE her. Shit. Of course I will Nikki, but you can change your will when we get home, ok? I said I wasn't going to cry but I have done more times than I care to admit in the last few hours and now I can't stop. I've got to stop crying, I can't let her hear me cry. I won't let you die, Nikki, I won't.

She needs to hear me say it though, so I will. But not like that. We are going to grow old together.

"I promise you, when the time comes, you and I, Clarissa and Thomas are sitting in adjoining armchairs in the Sunnyview Nursing home TV room and I look down and your custard cream lies unnibbled in your cold, dead hand..."

She's laughing. That's the first time I've heard her laugh in ages. I love the sound of that woman's laugh! It's so infectious. So beautiful.

"...I will burn you, I promise."

That's a promise, Nikki. A vow. You, me, Clarissa and Thomas growing old together in a nursing home. It's going to happen. FULL STOP.

 _'Listen, Jack, I've been thinking...'_

Well you haven't got anything else to do, darling.

 _'...Javier Rodriguez, the farm worker I did the post-mortem on, it's possible he was kept here. I mean_ _like this.'_

Yeah, that would make sense if the same people took you.

 _'The chemical that was in the body...'_

"Did we get a fix on it?"

Please say 'yes'. I need you back.

 _'No'_

Damn.

 _'But Clarissa should have the sample back by now. Maybe I'm not the only one here...oh my God,_ _Luisa...'_

Oh Nikki, stop worrying about everyone else. You're the only person that matters, sweetheart. No one but you.

"Nikki, stop. I need you to think through every case you've ever done."

 _'Every case?'_

"Oh, sorry. You've got something better to do?"

I didn't mean to sound cross, darling, I just need you back safely.

"You've come across this toxin before, you know you have. I'm calling Clarissa now. I'll call you back when I've spoken to her, ok?"

 _'I'm sorry for being such a coward, Jack.'_

You're not. You're being so brave, sweetheart.

"Oh yeah, you've got a yellow streak a mile wide. Everybody says it!"

 _'I'm afraid...for what's going to happen to me.'_

Oh Nikki, my poor Nikki. Shit. I'm going to cry again. She's so scared. What is it doing to her - being trapped in there?

 _'I killed a scorpion, Jack.'_

Oh. Shit. She had a scorpion in there! That's why she was screaming when I rang her. My poor baby.

"Well, give a donation to the RSPCA when you get home."

Because you ARE going home, Nikki.

 _'I'm hanging up now.'_

WE are going home.


	7. Chapter 7

**Nikki**

The phone's ringing again. Please let it be Jack. He's the only one I want to talk too. I want to talk to him right now - I need to talk to him. I need him here.

"Hello?"

 _'Nikki, are you ok?'_

 _There was a scorpion, Jack. A scorpion._

"No. Wait..."

I killed it, Jack. I killed a scorpion!

 _'Nikki'_

No, get it away from me!

"Jack, I've got to get out of here right now!" Get me out, GET ME OUT!

 _'I know, I know. Nikki, I know.'_

"No , I mean right now, Jack!"

I can't cope with this anymore! Breathe. Deep breaths. Calm down. Talk to Jack. Jack's on the other end of the .

"Any luck with tracking this phone?"

 _'You were right about the phone. It's hacked. Eva says they've found phones like it in cartel safe_ _houses.'_

I knew I was right. I didn't want to be right.

"Have they contacted you?"

 _'We're negotiating.'_

Negotiating? Jack negotiating for me? No. They've asked him to do something really bad in order to save me. Something he'd never even consider normally, but he'd do anything if it saves me. He doesn't want me to know what it is, because it's something I'd never agree with. It's not money, then.

"You're what?"

No, it's not money, but I'll pretend I think it is. It will be easier for him that way.

"How much do they want?"

 _'Don't you worry about it. We are nearly there.'_

What are they making you do, Jack? What's so bad that you don't want to tell me?

"And if you're not? If you can't..."

Because I know you've looked, Jack' I know you've searched the internet for ways to save me.

"You've looked, haven't you, Jack?"

 _'Looked at what?'_

I know you KNOW what I'm talking about.

"Come on, Jack..."

"I know you, the last of the boy scouts. You've searched on the internet, haven't you? 101 death-defying escapes..."

Come on, darling, tell me.

 _'Alright. But you're not going to like it. We don't know how deep you are, so it's a one-shot thing.'_

 _One shot is better than nothing, Jack. and right now, I'll take anything I can get._

 _'You gotta break through the top of the box somehow. You've got to get your feet up, kick through_ it. _Enough space to let the earth in, enough to get your head out.'_

"Go on..."

 _'Then you wait. Let the box start to fill with earth. You've got to wait as long as you can. Then cover_ _your face with whatever you've got, anything at all, so that the earth doesn't suffocate you as you_ _push up.'_

Shit _._ Could I really do that? It scares the hell out of me and I'm already as scared as hell anyway. Play it down. Make it less scary.

"And that's it?"

 _'Keep going up. Don't stop.'_

"Because I've got no way back down. The box will be full of earth."

"I see what you mean. It is a one-shot thing."

I could be suffocated by the earth. I could die trying to escape. I could die in here.

 _'It's not going to come to that though, Nikki.'_

I hope not, Jack because it scares me. I don't want to be buried though. I don't want to be buried.Ever.

"Jack... I don't want to be buried."

 _'You're not. We're getting you out.'_

Bless him. That wasn't what I meant.

"No. That's not what I mean."

"When I die, whenever it is...make sure I'm cremated, ok?"

"...In my will, it says that I want to be buried beside my mother, but I don't. I don't want to be under the ground. Please!"

He's crying. My darling, Jack is crying. I'm so sorry, my love, I know you don't want to talk about it, but I need you to promise me. Just in case. Shit, he's crying so much.

 _'I promise you, when the time comes, you and I, Clarissa and Thomas are sitting in adjoining_ _armchairs in the Sunnyview Nursing home TV room and I look down and your custard cream lies_ _unnibbled in your cold, dead hand...'_

I love you, Jack and that's all I want - to be in an adjoining armchair to you in our last days you, sweetheart. That's the first genuine laugh I've had in hours.

'...I will burn you, I promise.'

That sounds amazing, Jack - growing old together. I will hold you to that and as sure as the hell in in right now, You had better keep this promise, Jack. I WON'T let you forget it!

"Listen, Jack, I've been thinking..."

"...Javier Rodriguez, the farm worker I did the post-mortem on, it's possible he was kept here. I mean like this."

"The chemical that was in the body..."

 _'Did we get a fix on it?'_

"No"

"But Clarissa should have the sample back by now. Maybe I'm not the only one here...oh my God, Luisa..."

Luisa! What if she's trapped like me? What if she's buried alive to? Would she still be alive though?

 _'Nikki, stop. I need you to think through every case you've ever done.'_

"Every case?"

Every case? Seriously, Jack? I've worked HUNDREDS of cases!

 _'Oh, sorry. You've got something better to do?'_

He's not really annoyed, I know that. He's just frustrated because he can't find me.

 _'You've come across this toxin before, you know you have. I'm calling Clarissa now. I'll call you back_ _when I've spoken to her, ok?'_

"I'm sorry for being such a coward, Jack."

 _I'm so scared, Jack. I'm bloody terrified. I KILLED a scorpion!_

 _'Oh yeah, you've got a yellow streak a mile wide. Everybody says it!'_

Bless you, for trying to make me feel better.

"I'm afraid...for what's going to happen to me."

Oh, God I think he's crying again. Shit, I want him here so much. I want to comfort him, tell him it will be alright. But I don't know if it will - and that's what scares me the most cause I don't think he will be able to cope with it if I die.

"I killed a scorpion, Jack."

 _'Well, give a donation to the RSPCA when you get home.'_

I love that you are still trying to make me feel better.

"I'm hanging up now."

Remember, you've got a promise to me to keep, Jack Hodgson. I won't let you forget it. Me, you, Clarissa and Thomas in the Nursing Home. Remember, Jack

REMEMBER!


	8. Chapter 8

**Jack**

I'll talk to Eva. I think they have someone on the inside. They must have. They seem to know my every move. They knew I'd spoken to Gustavo and they threatened Nikki again because of it. Damn. Maybe it's Gustavo - surely, if he loves Luisa, he should be more bothered about her going missing. It's not right. It's not. He's their inside man.

"They've made contact - Nikki's kidnappers."

Never thought I'd have to say that. I never thought anyone could take my beautiful Nikki. She helps everyone and hurts no one.

 _'What did they say?'_

They said she will die if I tell anyone.

"I think they are watching me. They seem to know everything I do..."

Because Gustavo is telling them.

"...I think there's someone within the compound."

Gustavo.

 _'So you think we are being set up?'_

If I'm honest she doesn't look that surprised - at least not as surprised as I expected her to look. I suppose, living here probably teaches you not to trust ANYONE.

 _'What Luisa? Ernesto too?'_

"Maybe."

But would Gustavo really do that to Luisa? I mean giving out information is one thing, but putting someone he loves in direct danger? Supposedly loves.

"There are two calls from Luisa's phone that are still unexplained. One to Gustavo..."

 _'He did explain. He never got it. He was on a flight.'_

She looks surprised now! Surprised that I could even suspect Gustavo. She knows that's what I'm getting at. She wasn't expecting THAT.

"The flight had landed by then. I checked. It landed 15 minutes before."

Now do you see why I'm so suspicious of him, Eva?

She doesn't believe it - I can tell. But I do. And if he took my Nikki or was in anyway responsible for her being taken, God help him if I don't get her back alive.

 _'Gustavo and Luisa, they were...'_

In love. Apparently.

"You were the only one who knew about them..."

And Nikki did. My baby knew and now her life is in danger.

"...the only one who'd seen them together."

I never believed the whole 'Love is weakness' excuse for keeping their relationship a secret. Except, I kind of do now, because Nikki is my weakness and they took her to make me co-operate. Gustavo is much to calm about Luisa's disappearance though. I don't know where Nikki is and I can't think straight.

 _'They were together, they were happy, they were...'_

I was happy. Nikki was happy. We were happy.

"What? Eva, please..."

Nikki is running out of time.

 _'They had a fight. An argument. It was just before he left for Hermosillo. I don't know what it was_ _about...This is stupid. You said two calls...'_

"Someone called Luisa from a public call box in San Lorenzo. The call that we think sent her to the farm. Now, if they were all taken by the same kidnappers..."

I still think it was Gustavo. Well part of me does. The part that's making me tear my hair out in despair, trying to find Nikki. Because he should be doing the same if he loves Luisa. If he is their inside man and Nikki dies - I will kill him.

"You're right. This is stupid."

We are wasting time having a conversation and Nikki is dying. Slowly dying - but not slowly enough.

 _'What do they want?'_

If I tell you that, Eva, they will kill her. So I can't.

Maybe she understands that because she's not pushing the issue.

 _'Jack, I've lost one son, maybe two.'_

Yes. Of course she understands. Sort of.

 _'If there was anything I could have done, could do to get them back, to have them here at home, I'll_ _do it. Anything. Give them what they want, Jack. No one will blame you. This is not your fight.'_

I will do it. If it brings Nikki home safely, I will do it. I just don't know how to do it, Eva.


	9. Chapter 9

**Nikki**

Think of Jack. Keep fighting. Jack will. Jack won't ever stop fighting to find me. He'll keep fighting like a tiger. What's that song? Reminds me of him so much! Keep my spirits up. Keep fighting. How does it go?

 _Singing:_

 _Rising up, back on the street  
Did my time, took my chances  
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet  
Just a man and his will to survive_

Think of the cases I've done - that's what Jack said.

Jack. How is he coping? Really? My poor Jack was crying.

No, focus, Nikki, focus.

 _Singing:_

 _So many times it happens too fast  
You trade your passion for glory  
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past  
You must fight just to keep them alive_

I wonder how many walls you have kicked or punched, Jack. I'm worried about how you are coping with this. I'm not there to clean you up if you get into a fight with a brick wall.

Cases, I've got to think about cases. Don't lose grip. Fight to stay alive.

There was a child. A girl. I think it was a girl. That doesn't really matter does it. Who did the post-mortem? Not me I don't think. It wasn't me. Was it Harry? No, it was Leo. I'm sure it was Leo. We can ask Leo. No. What am I talking about? Leo's dead. I'm going to join him, if I'm not careful. Leo. Mum. Dad. Oh God. 25% battery left. Oh Jack. I'm running out of time to talk to you.

Breathe. Keep breathing. Slow breaths. Jack will get me out. Jack will fight for me. I need to fight too. Think of that song - Jack's song.

 _Singing:_

 _It's the eye of the tiger  
It's the thrill of the fight  
Rising up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor  
Stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger_

That's my Jack. The fighter - in more ways than one. I don't just mean his cage-fighting. The part of him I wish he'd give up. Don't get me wrong - I quite like seeing him doing the rounds on a punch bag. The strength and power in the punches he throws, take my breath away. And when he fought off that gunman in the woods. I know he did that to protect me. That took my breath away too.

 _Singing:_

 _Face to face, out in the heat  
Hanging tough, staying hungry  
They stack the odds still we take to the street  
For the kill with the skill to survive_

When he gets angry, it's when he feels strongly about something. He's a passionate man, my Jack. He's got the biggest heart of anyone I know. He fights to control his passion.

Singing:

It's the eye of the tiger  
It's the thrill of the fight  
Rising up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor  
Stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

That last phone call we had, Jack. The promise you made. It keeps going around my head. We are going to make it happen. Adjoining armchairs in a Nursing Home. I'm holding onto that image, Jack. You and I in an old people's home.

Singing:

Rising up, straight to the top  
Had the guts, got the glory  
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop  
Just a man and his will to survive

You say that you fight because of guilt and to remind you to have 'bottle'. You've definitely got 'bottle'. I've always admired that about you, Jack. But what if I die? What will that guilt do to you, darling? Because I know you - you will blame yourself. You already blame yourself for me being taken - because you weren't with me when it happened. You blame yourself for not being there to stop them. You've taken it upon yourself to be my protector.

I can't bear the thought of leaving you behind, struggling with the guilt and the pain. I just want to do anything I can to protect your aching heart.

 _Singing:_

 _It's the eye of the tiger  
It's the thrill of the fight  
Rising up to the challenge of our rival  
And the last known survivor  
Stalks his prey in the night  
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger_

And his eyes. Those gorgeous eyes. I love staring into them - they give out such warmth. A warmth he only reserves for me. Those eyes tell me so much without needing to use words. Jack's eyes tell me that he's going to protect me from whatever he can .I can see them now. They are saying that I will see him again.

 _Singing:_

 _The eye of the tiger...  
_

And so, I will think. I will think like he wants me too. Cases. What was the case that Leo worked on? Think back. However hopeless it might be for me, I will do it for Jack. My Jack.

My tiger.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack

This memorial thing is way too big. So many missing people. So many, SO MANY! Candles and photos and...NO!

How DARE they put her photo in here! She does not belong here. She is not one of them. She not just 'another missing person'. I am going to find her!

Shit. Luisa's dad. He saw that. Not that I care because only care about finding Nikki before it's too late. I don't want him to think that I'm destroying the memorial, though l. But Nikki does NOT belong up there. Not my Nikki.

"She's not like the others"

I am getting her back. Alive. Today.

"She doesn't belong here."

She belongs with me. At the Lyell with me, Clarissa and Thomas. I. AM. GETTING. HER. BACK.

"I'm sorry."

I'm sorry about Luisa. Ernesto. The others. But Nikki is coming home.

 _'Wait.'_

I can't. No, don't stop me. I'm sorry, I really am, but I need to go. Nikki is running out of time.

 _'Jack...'_

He's going to say he's sorry for my loss - or some such thing. She is NOT dead. He's trying to comfort me, but Nikki is the only one who's allowed to do that. Anyway, I don't need comforting. I don't. Because she is going to be fine.

"Nikki's coming home. She has too..."

Because I can't cope with the alternative..

"She's coming home."

I don't care about anyone else.

What? Not my phone? Then who's...?

"Shit. Luisa's phone? Eight missed calls. I know that number. Call box."

San Lorenzo. There's something there - some clue, I know it. Maybe it'll help me find Nikki. Please.

Please.


	11. Chapter 11

**Nikki**

Singing softly:

 _We got it all  
And we'd be fools to let it go  
Cos I need you more and more  
You're my life and I live  
For your love that you give  
And although my journey's long, I'll soon be home  
O-o-o-o-own  
It's gonna be so hard on my own  
But I won't be alone_

You're always there, Jack. No matter what happens, if I turn around, you've got my back. And I've got yours. Always.

Singing softly:

 _Cross my heart and tell no lies  
No-one's leaving you behind  
Just because we said goodbye, baby  
Cross my heart I do believe  
In my thoughts and in my dreams  
I'll be taking you with me, baby_

Always me and you. Forever. There has to be a way of getting back to you, Jack. Sometimes, though, it feels like you're in here with me. If I close my eyes.

Singing softly:

 _Sometimes I think  
That I can feel you breathin' on me  
You're there so deep inside  
And I like, what I feel  
Though it's not always real  
It helps me carry on, till I come home  
O-o-o-o-own  
It's gonna be so hard on my own  
But I won't be alone_

Whenever I stumble, you catch me. I'll catch you too. Do you know how much I live for your phone calls right now, Jack? Your voice, that gorgeous accent. It's stopping me from giving up. It gives me a reason to keep on fighting.

Singing softly:

 _Cross my heart and tell no lies  
No-one's leaving you behind  
Just because we said goodbyte, baby  
Cross my heart I do believe  
In my thoughts and in my dreams  
I'll be taking you with me baby_

I hope you can stay calm, my darling. Sometimes, when you get angry or frightened, it overwhelms you and you find it hard to think straight. Normally, when that happens, it's me who talks some sense into you - or at least, I try too! Or sometimes Clarissa does. Or even Thomas on occasions - although you seem to be hard-wired to listen to us women, more! I'm not there now though and at present when we talk on the phone, I'm sometimes too overwhelmed by fear myself to be much help. There is only so much Clarissa and Thomas can do from London. That's an awful lot of pressure on you, sweetheart - more than anyone should ever have to deal with, so I hope this horrible situation is not taking its toll on you too much. I know you will blame yourself - but you really mustn't.

Singing softly:

 _Dream a dream a dream a dream a dreamin'  
Wherever you are you're near me  
Please believe believe believe believe in  
Whatever I say I cross my heart_

Imagine I'm there with you. Think about what I say or do when you feel like that. Don't let it be frightening. Don't let it overwhelm you, love.

Singing softly:

 _Cross my heart and tell no lies  
No-one's leaving you behind  
Just because we said goodbye, baby  
Cross my heart I do believe  
In my thoughts and in my dreams  
I'll be taking you with me, baby_

Running out of power. Got to record a message before the phone dies. Jack, Clarissa, Thomas - I have to tell them - just in case. They have to know.

Jack has to know.

"This is Nikki Alexander. I'm a doctor, a pathologist from England, working for the British Home Office. I've been doing some work with the 'Reunited' project. It's possible I may not live through this. There are some things I want to say."

"Jack, I know you've been doing everything you can. I know you're frantic. I know you'll feel like you failed. But your voice has kept me sane in here, you know."

"Clarissa, I never thanked you enough. I never told you how loved you are."

"Thomas, I'm sorry I've caused so much fuss. I know I drive you crazy. But I respect you so much."

"I know you all wonder sometimes why I've never settled down. Why I've never focused on my own life...a family, maybe. But this has been my family. Your lives, their lives. It's the only decent family I've ever known."

"Jack. Clarissa. Thomas. You are my family. I love you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Jack**

That man is ringing Luisa. He obviously doesn't know she's dead. Or missing. He must know SOMETHING though.

"Hey she's dead."

Spanish, try Spanish. Look, I've got her phone. I didn't mean to starle you, pal. But I've got to find Nikki.

"Do you understand? You sent her to the farm. I need to know what you told her."

Got to go to the farm. Got to find something. Anything.

A needle in a haystack.

 **Nikki**

Oh, Jack, Where are you? I thought you would have rung me again by now. Maybe it just seems like a long time because I'm in here.

I'm not as frightened as I was, Jack. I'm sort of getting used to being in here. The idea that I might not make it out of here isn't as scary as it was before. Maybe part of me is starting to accept that I might die in here.

The thing that does scare me is leaving you behind, Jack. I don't think you will be able to cope with it, if I die. I know you and I know the guilt you will feel. I know the pain you will feel because I'm not there anymore. You're my best friend, Jack and I know that if I die it will eat away at you, bit by bit, until it destroys you. That's what scares me and I'm also terrified that this phone will die before you call again. That will devastate you because I can picture the look on your face, if that happens. If only this was all a bad dream.

 _Singing:_

 _I want to feel just like before  
Before the rain came in my door  
Shook me up turned me around  
Made me cry till I would drown_

It's all a dream, Jack. Just a bad dream, love. We'll both wake up and everything will be fine. We'll be back in the lab at the Lyell. You, Clarissa, Thomas and I.

 _Singing:_

 _Stole the daylight, brought the night  
So much anger I would fight  
Lost my youth and the blue  
Saw all the loneliness in you_

We'll all go out to the pub later and I'll beat you at pool as usual!

 _Singing:_

 _Want to help you give my love  
Shine some light out from the mud  
Fill the empty find a rhyme  
A brighter day a better time_

We'll go to the cinema at the weekend and see that film you want to see. We'll get popcorn. Thomas can share with Clarissa and Max - or get his own! I'll share with you. Big tub of popcorn, salted only on the right. One of your little quirks - never eating popcorn on the left of the tub when it'd salted! Your odd like that, Jack. One of the many things I love about you!

 _Singing:_

 _But I'm wondering where I'm gone  
Can't find the truth within my song  
And all I have give to you  
To let you know you're not alone_

Bowling. We'll go bowling. I bet I can beat you at that too! I bet I can get a strike!

 _Singing:_

 _I'm telling you  
I'm smiling for you only (only...)  
I'm trying for you solely (solely...)  
I'm praying for you only (only...)  
No more cry, no more cry..._

What about that 'escape' thing - 'locked in a room'. We'll be so good at that - the four of us. Well five if we invite Max! I reckon he'd be quite helpful! It'd be like work but without the dead bodies.

 _Singing:_

 _I want to hear you laugh again  
Without the ache to bring you down  
No we'll never be the same  
If only I could take your pain_

Let's go to the Natural History Museum again - you know I love it! I never get tired of going there.

 _Singing:_

 _But if it's true what people say  
There still is beauty in each day  
We'll find comfort in her strength  
One day soon we'll meet again_

London zoo, Jack Penguins, Monkeys, Giraffes. I want to see Elephants and crocodiles!

 _Singing:_

 _I'm telling you  
I'm smiling for you only (only...)  
I'm trying for you solely (solely...)  
I'm praying for you only (only...)  
No more cry, no more cry..._

We'll go and visit the London Dungeon again. You always enjoy that. Or maybe one of those hauntedhouse experiences. It'll be so fun, Jack. You might have to hold my hand though because I'll probablyfreak out!

Kew gardens, Jack. Or maybe just a simple picnic in the par. Boring, you'll say but really, what could be lovelier?

 _Singing:_

 _Yeah, I worry for you only (only...)  
I'm praying for you only (only...)  
No more cry, no more cry..._

Alton Towers! Take me to Alton Towers, Jack. I want to go on all the rollercoasters.

 _Singing:_

 _Reach out for your love (love...)  
Shout out for your love (love...)  
Listen for your love (love...)  
Believe in her love... (love...)_

 _We should go on the London Eye again and see the sights._

 _Singing:_

 _I'm telling you  
I'm telling you  
I'm smiling for you only (only...)  
I'm trying for you solely (solely...)_

 _I'm praying for you only (only...)  
No more cry, no more cry  
I'm singing for you only (only...)  
Hey, I worry for you only (only...)_

I'll even go down the sewers again! You seem to have a thing about taking women down there.Especially me! Weirdo. Whatever you want though.

 _Singing:_

 _But it's you saves me from lonely (lonely...)  
No more cry, no more cry  
No, no more cry... (no more cry...)  
No more cry... (no more cry...)_

 _No more cry... (no more cry...)  
No more cry_

Call me, Jack. Call me.

We'll go out for a pizza.


	13. Chapter 13

**Jack**

 _'Where have you been?'_

"San Lorenzo."

I'm try to find you, darling.

"I wanted to check something."

 _'I've been thinking about you and that girl you were seeing a while back. Amy, right?'_

Amy? Who the hell is Amy?

"Anna? Alright..."

 _'What's your problem? She was nice...'_

She wasn't you.

 _'...what makes you so sure , you can so sure you can do any better?'_

"What? What are you talking about?"

Now? You're choosing NOW, to lecture me on women? What the hell, Nikki?!

 _'Men. That's what I'm talking about. You think your romantics...'_

I am romantic!

 _'...but you're not. You're obsessive's...'_

How rude!

 _'You fix on something and nothing else exists. It's brutal.'_

Is she insulting me? Or just men in general? Because right now, I'm fixed, obsessed with finding you and at this moment, if that's what all men are like, then I wish I wasn't one.

"A man put you in there."

 _'What does he think he will achieve?...'_

Well I don't bloody know - I'm not him!

 _'...I'm not alone...'_

what?!

 _'...there's 30, 000 of us under this earth. That's a whole city. A city lost. We're breathing dirt.'_

Shit. She's talking about the dead. The dead and buried. Not my Nikki. Don't give up. Please.

"You've got time, Nikki"

I'm going to take you home.

 _'Six hours'_

Come on, love.

 _'...and then what?...'_

And then we are going home, Nikki.

 _'It starts in the liver and then the brain. The cells start to break down, autolysis...'_

No, stop. I don't want to listen to this.

"Nikki..."

 _'...The first to arrive are the Phoridae, the coffin flies, they can burrow through two feet of earth...'_

I feel sick.

 _'...And the Nicrophorus, the Carrion beetles...'_

Shit, Nikki. Can you not just imagine pink clouds and fluffy bubby rabbits or something?!

 _'...then the ones that feed on the others will join the feast, the spiders and millipedes and mites, the_ _insect fauna specific to the region...'_

I don't believe this, she's actually going to imagine her own post-mortem in a minute!

"NIKKI!"

 _'Oxygen escapes through the slats. I haven't got six hours, have I? How long have I got, Jack?'_

Shit. She's panicking again.

Look it up. Look it up.

Three. Three bloody hours! How am I going to find her on my own, in three bloody hours? Shit!

Can't tell her that. She's already starting to give up.

"You've got time."

 _'You called me. You said San Lorenzo...what's that?...it's them, isn't it?'_

Shit.

"Nikki, I'm going to call you back, ok?"

What the hell do they want now?

"I'm here."

 _'You're late...'_

Shit, the insulin - I forgot.

'...he was meant to get his insulin shot an hour ago...'

Yeah, well I've been busy trying to keep Nikki calm because you IDIOTS shut her in a box under the ground!

 _'...why haven't you done what we told you? You must know time is running out for her...'_

"It takes planning. I can't just break in there and bust the guy out!"

 _'Get him out! We'll tell you what to do then."_

Arseholes!

The results are back. Finally!

What do you mean the samples degraded? Shit! No!

"Shit! Shit!"

I don't know what to do. I don't know how to save her.

Shit, I just have to charge in there with a gun or something and hope it bloody works.

There's nothing else I can do.

Car keys. Gun. Bullets.

Shit. Gustavo. Get out of my way, you prat.

 _'What are you going to do with that?'_

He saw the gun. Shit. What do you THINK I'm going to do with it?

Whatever I have to do to save Nikki. I don't care about anything else anymore. Or anyone.

"I want to be able to protect myself. Look what happened to Nikki.

I can save her if I do this, but that was a feeble excuse of a reason and he knows it.

"I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Well, that reason was honest at least.

I just have to save her. That's all. Nothing else matters. Nothing.

Don't follow me. If you try and stop me from saving her, I WILL punch you. Make no mistake. I WILL!

He IS following me!

"What do you want from me?!"

Because that punch is coming.

 _'What do they want from you? The cartel?'_

You bloody well know, Gustavo.

"They haven't said anything."

Except that I have to break a dangerous prisoner out in order to save Nikki's life.

But you know that already, don't you.

"You know, don't you? It's you."

Nikki was right that time she accused Thomas of taking that document when we first met hi - I wouldn't have taken a deep breath before accusing him. Pretty much like now, except this is different because my Nikki's life is in danger. Because of YOU, Gustavo.

 _'Me? What's me?'_

What do you want? a punch in the bloody face?

"I've been to San Lorenzo. You didn't check out that call box, did you? I did. I know why Luisa went to the farm that day. She was told the farmers had been threatened and robbed..."

 _'...by the Navajas...'_

"Ah, come on!"

Just bloody admit it! Because if you really are on my side, you would have done everything you possibly could to find Luisa - like I'm doing for Nikki. If you really loved Luisa, you would have checked out that call box!

"The men who demanded the money wore yellow shirts. Yes. That's what you and Luisa fought about, wasn't it? She knew what you were doing She knew about the corruption."

I haven't got time for this. I'm going now. Get in the car. Save Nikki. I CAN save...

Urgh! Get off me, Gustavo! What the hell do you think you're doing?

 _'Who said that? That's why she went to the farm? Are you sure?'_

Yes. I'm sure. Wait, could I have been wrong about Gustavo?

"Go on, deny it! Go on!"

 _'We did fight. The night before I left. She kept saying that I couldn't see what was in front of me._ _That I was blind. Some of my own men, she said.'_

"Working with the cartel."

I WAS wrong about Gustavo.

 _'I told her she was crazy. She went to get proof at the farm. That's why the Cartel took her. So she_ _couldn't tell me what she'd found out. She's gone because of me.'_

Guilt. It's GUILT. That's why he's been acting suspiciously. He feels guilty for Luisa's disappearance.

I can relate. Nikki being taken was my fault. I should have been looking after her better. I should have made her go home to keep her safe.

She's gone because of me.

"The Cartel want me to get him out. The prisoner, El Buitre. And if I don't do it..."

My Nikki will die. I can't let her die, Gustavo.

"Look, she's only got a few hours of air left. What does it matter, one more or one less of them? Nikki, Matters, right. She saves lives."

She's a doctor. A pathologist - a doctor of the dead! Oh, the irony.

But the point still stands. Nikki matters.

 _'No. This isn't the way.'_

Luisa matters too. You'd do it for her. Anyway, I don't care what you think. Only Nikki matters to me. I don't give a shit about anything else.

"No. I'm not asking you, man."

I don't need your bloody permission. I will do whatever it takes to save her. with or without you. Like I said, I don't care about anything else, anymore."

"It's my choice, my decision, my fault."

Like Nikki being taken in the first place because that's a decision I have to correct.. I chose to go to the Cartel safe house and leave her at the compound with Eva. If I hadn't I would have been in the car with them and I could have stopped them from taking her. Nikki is going on that plane home. Whatever happens.

What are you doing? I don't have time for this. Nikki doesn't have time for this.

 _'You're not going to get him out of there with that gun.'_

What the hell do I do then?

 _'Look, the police are terrified of El Buitre. Of what he will bring down on them. But they can't just let_ _him go. But if he were to die in there now, that would be there worst nightmare."_

Is there a point to this speech, Gustavo? Because I'm really NOT getting it!

"I don't understand."

'I'm saying there's a better way."

He's going to help me. He's going to help me save Nikki.

Got to ring Nikki back before I do it.

Shit. I'm actually bloody doing this.

Oh Shit.

"Nikki, you're not going to her from me for an hour or so. You're not to worry, okj? I'm going to get you out of there."

We're going home, soon.

'What are you going to do? Jack?"

Ok. Here goes nothing!


	14. Chapter 14

**Nikki**

Phone, The phone!

"Where have you been?"

Please let it be Jack.

 _'San Lorenzo. I wanted to check something.'_

Thank God. That Irish accent. It is Jack.

"I've been thinking about you..."

I've done nothing BUT think about you since I've been in here.

"...and that girl you were seeing a while back. Amy, right?"

 _'Anna? Alright...'_

No, don't you try and change the subject, Jack Hodgson.

"What's your problem? She was nice..."

Because I won't let you be on your own afterwards, after I die. After I die. Today.

Oh God, how did it come to this?

"What makes you so sure , you can so sure you can do anybetter?"

I think it's because he expects all women to be like me and when he realises their not, he gives up onthem.

Wow, that sounded really big-headed.

 _'What? What are you talking about?'_

Well, he's clearly not ready to accept that I might die - that he might not be able to save me this time, even if I am.

Well, Jack, you are going to listen to this, just in case because I will not let you be alone.

"Men. That's what I'm talking about. You think your romantics, but you're not. You're obsessive's.You fix on something and nothing else exists. It's brutal.'

What am I saying? Jack is a romantic, bless him. He's not like other men. Jack is not like any other man!

But there is some truth to what I say. Jack can be obsessive sometimes - he's obsessing over me right now. He's fixed on saving me and to him, I'm the only thing that matters.

 _'A man put you in there.'_

Yes, Jack. And you hate that 'man' more than anything in the world.

"What does he think he will achieve? I'm not alone. There's 30, 000 of us under this earth. That's awhole city. A city lost. We're breathing dirt."

That's what every copse is doing. Except their not breathing. I'm talking rubbish.

 _'You've got time, Nikki'_

I was trying to make him feel better before, by showing him I'm not scared anymore but now he's trying to make me feel better instead.

But I know my fate, Jack. I've done enough post-mortems to know what is going to happen to me.

"Six hours, and then what?. It starts in the liver and then the brain. The cells start to break down,autolysis..."

 _'Nikki...'_

"...The first to arrive are the Phoridae, the coffin flies, they can burrow through two feet of earth...and the Nicrophorus, the Carrion beetles. Then the ones that feed on the others will join the feast, the spiders and millipedes and mites, the insect fauna specific to the region..."

 _'NIKKI!'_

Shit. Sorry, darling. Got a bit carried away. You shouldn't have had to listen to that.

Wood slats. Shit, Wood slats!

"Oxygen escapes through the slats. I haven't got six hours, have I?"

Oh, shit, I'm scared again now.

"How long have I got, Jack?"

Maybe I'm not as ok about dying as I thought.

 _'You've got time.'_

I'm not ok about leaving Jack.

"You called me. You said San Lorenzo..."

Is that beeping on his phone? He's getting another call.

"...what's that?...it's them, isn't it?"

The people who put me in here.

 _'Nikki, I'm going to call you back, ok?'_

It is them. Shit, what are they going to make him do now?

Shit.

Try not to think about it. Keep my spirits up

Song, another song, urm...

Singing:

 _I'm gonna wake up  
Yes, I know I'm gonna kiss some part of  
I'm gonna keep this secret  
I'm gonna close my body now_

Jack is waiting for me.

Singing:

 _I think I'll find another way  
There's so much more to know  
I guess I'll die another day  
It's not my time to go_

There's still so much I want to do.

I haven't finished with this world yet.

Singing:

 _For every sin, I'll have to pay  
A time to work, a time to play  
I think I'll find another way  
It's not my time to go_

Dying is too easy. Staying alive is harder. I'm not done yet.

I still have time.

Singing:

 _I'm gonna break the cycle  
I'm gonna shake up the system  
I'm gonna destroy my ego  
I'm gonna close my body now_

If you're waiting for me to die, you've got another think coming.

I will not leave Jack on his own.

Singing:

 _I'm gonna avoid the cliche  
I'm gonna suspend my senses  
I'm gonna delay my pleasure  
I'm gonna close my body now_

I'm going home with you Jack. Whatever happens.

Singing:

 _It's not my time to go._

 _'Nikki, you're not going to her from me for an hour or so. You're not to worry, okj? I'm going to get you out of there.'_

"What are you going to do? Jack?"

 _What are they making you do, Jack?_

Please don't do anything stupid. I want that forensic suit back in one piece!


	15. Chapter 15

**Jack**

Shit. I've got to nearly kill a man then bring him back. If this goes wrong... Shit, it can't go wrong. I have to save Nikki. Have to save her.

"I don't like this anymore than you do."

Don't you dare bloody die on me. Not before I get Nikki back.

Shit. Well, I've done it now. Shit.

Slowly. Walk, slowly. Can't get too far away. This CAN'T go wrong.

That's my cue.

"It's a fit. He's hypoglycaemic. He's had a bad reaction to the insulin. What else has he taken today?"

Stay calm. Stay calm.

"Give me that blanket, quickly!"

 _'Give him sugar.'_

"Don't be daft. He's having a seizure. It could choke him. We need emergency care."

I need Nikki. This has to work.

Scare them.

"Do you want him to die? In your jail cell? Call an ambulance. We're losing him. We're losing him. Shit! He's gone into insulin shock. It's a coma. Get me a stretcher."

Go, go, go. Quick, come on. He can't die. Not now!

Go, GO!

"Elevator! Elevator!"

Come on, come ON!

"Go. Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Well done, Gustavo. Get him in. No, you can't come!

"No, no, no, no, no..."

 _'He's dangerous...'_

Gun, Gustavo? Oh, shit their going to shoot it out!

"No..."

What is he doing? Huh?

"What's he saying?"

 _'He's saying 'hit him' just do it!'_

I can do that. Sorry pal.

Let us through! Let us through. Please. PLEASE!

Shit. Got to get him back! Come on, man. Come on!

"He's no use to us dead!"

 _'Jack?'_

"Wait. Come on, come on, come on."

Shit.

"Come on, Come on. Don't you die. Here he comes. Here he comes!"

Phew.

Phone. Ah, the place. Got it.

"Ok. Take us here."

It worked! It bloody worked! Drive Gustavo, drive!

 _'They're about half an hour away.'_

"He said they'd know when we got him out. They've got people in the police, haven't they?"

 _'The Cartel are everywhere.'_

I'm coming Nikki.

"We're running out of time."

Got to save Nikki. Got to.

"Here they come...where's Nikki? I don't see her."

Get the prisoner. Maybe they want to check we have him.

"We saved your life so you can go on killing for the Cartel."

 _'I kill for anyone. The Cartel, the police...whoever pays me. And no one does it as good as me.'_

I hate your guts.

Here he is. Now give me Nikki.

"Wait, wait. Where is she? Where is Nikki? Wait, where are you going? What? Are they bringing her back? Where? Where is she?"

I don't understand.

 _'I don't know.'_

"Where is she? They've got to bring her out!"

What?

"Jesus...shit...no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..."

 _'Jack, Jack!'_

"No, no, no. Where is she? Nikki?"

Stop! Where is she? You promised! I need her back!

"I gave you him. Where's my friend?"

We had a deal. Give me Nikki. Please. PLEASE!

"Wait! Jesus Christ! What just happened? There was no exchange, was there? He didn't even know what I was talking about!"

Shit! We committed a crime. We bust him out. I nearly bloody killed him and for nothing? They didn't give us Nikki. Shit!

"Why kill him?"

 _'He's dead and now their crimes die with him.'_

Shit, I'll never see her again now. I need her back. I need her so much!

"They've got what they wanted. Won't be long now, Nikki."

 _'What have you done?'_

"We're gonna get you out of there. We're going home."

"Is she? Is she coming home? She's got an hour or two of air left, maybe. Probably less as the carbon dioxide builds up."

 _'Let's go. The police will be here soon.'_

"What have I done?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Nikki**

 _'Nikki, you're not going to her from me for an hour or so. You're not to worry, okj? I'm going to get you out of there.'_

"What are you going to do? Jack?"

 _What are they making you do, Jack?_

Please don't do anything stupid. I want that forensic suit back in one piece!

Shit! What are they making you do, though? Got to take my mind off it. It's going to drive me insane, worrying about what he's doing for the next hour or so.

Put my mind somewhere else.

Go somewhere else.

Somewhere happy.

Happy.

 _Singing_

 _Ha ha ha  
Ho ho ho  
And a couple of tra la las  
That's how we laugh the day away  
In the merry old land of Oz_

 _Buzz, buzz, buzz  
Chirp, chirp, chirp  
And a couple of La di das  
That's how the crickets crick all day  
In the merry old land of Oz_

Toto. Glinda. Ruby slippers.

 _Singing:_

 _We get up at twelve and start to work at one  
Take an hour for lunch and then at two we're done  
Jolly good fun_

Yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road.

 _Singing:_

 _Ha ha ha  
Ho ho ho  
And a couple of tra la las  
That's how we laugh the day away  
In the merry old land of Oz_

 _Ha ha ha  
Ho ho ho  
Ha ha ha ha ha  
That's how we laugh the day away  
With a ho ho ho ha ha ha  
In the merry old land of Oz_

Oompa loompas. No. Wait. Wrong one!

Munchkins.

Munchkinland.

 _Singing:_

 _Pat, pat here  
Pat, pat there  
And a couple of brand new straws  
That's how we keep you young and fair  
In the merry old land of Oz_

Scarecrow needs a brain.

 _Singing:_

 _Rub, rub here  
Rub, rub there  
Whether you're tin or bronze  
That's how we keep you in repair  
In the merry old land of Oz_

Tin man needs a heart.

 _Singing:_

 _We can make a dimple smile out of a frown  
Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown? Uh-huh  
Jolly old town_

New dress for Dorothy.

 _Singing:_

 _Clip, clip here  
Clip, clip there  
We give the roughest claws  
That certain air of savoir faire  
In the merry old land of Oz_

Lion needs some courage.

 _Singing:_

 _Ha ha ha  
Ho ho ho  
Ho ho ho ho ho  
That's how we laugh the day away  
In the merry old land of Oz_

Ding Dong the witch is dead!

 _Singing:_

 _That's how we laugh the day away  
With a ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha  
Ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha  
In the merry old land of Oz_

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home.

There's no place...what?

Oh! Phone.

Jack!

Please let him be ok.

 _'They've got what they wanted. Won't be long now, Nikki.'_

"What have you done?"

 _'We're gonna get you out of there. We're going home.'_

Then why do you sound so defeated?

If I'm coming home, why do you sound devastated?


	17. Chapter 17

**Nikki**

Huh? What? Shit, where am I? Box? Wood box?

Oh, yeah.

Still here then.

Must have dozed off or something.

Urgh, my head is banging! Shit.

Water, I need water! It's empty. Shit, please someone get me out of here! Please,

Just GET ME OUT!

Phone. Please let it be Jack! Please, Jack!

I need to talk to him. I don't know how much longer I've got.

Oh, shit don't ring off! Where is it?

 _'Nikki.'_

It is Jack. I need you.

Are they coming, Jack?"

I'm really dehydrated. I need to get out.

"I'm running out of air, I can feel it."

And I've already run out of water.

"I don't know how much more I can take."

 _'Nikki, listen...when you were with Eva, when you fell asleep in the car, do you remember exactly_ _where you were?'_

What? Why do you want to know that?

"Why are you asking me this?"

They're not coming, are they? Whatever it was that they made you do, it was for nothing. That's why you sounded so deflated before.

"Aren't they...aren't they coming?

 _'Please. Did you see anything by the road, any landmarks, before you passed out?"_

He sounds so desperate. This is killing him as much as it's killing me. Literally, killing me.

He knows he's probably not going to find me in time.

Wait, 'Passed out'?!

"What do you mean, 'passed out'?"

I thought I fell asleep. Jet-lag.

"I'm scared, Jack."

I thought I wasn't. But I'm feeling the effects of dehydration in buckets! It's not a nice way to go.

"What's happening?"

I need the truth. I know you've been trying to protect me from it. But I need to know. I'm scared, Jack.

"Please tell me the truth. I need the truth."

Please, because I know I'm dying and it can't be scarier than that. I'm already dying.

 _'It wasn't the Cartel who took you.'_

What? Then who?

 _'It was Eva. To get Ernesto back.'_

What? No. It can't have been. She's my friend.

Eva wouldn't do that to me. This.

"No. It was a man who called."

 _'Yeah, I've got her phone. There's an application on it that changes your voice. It costs like a dollar...'_

That's why she threw up after vesting the priest. She knew what she was going to do to me.

'...Eva's dead, Nikki. They killed her...'

No, no, no. How are you going to find me then, Jack? She knew where I am and now she's dead.

 _'But we're coming to find you.'_

Shit I feel so sick and shivery. I need this to end.

NOW!

'Now we know it was her that took you . We will find you.'

But you'll be too late, baby. You know it and I know it.

I'm sorry.

Urgh. So sick. So shivery. Thirsty. Have to get out. Have to try. Now.

 _'Nikki?'_

Come on, got to try.

 _'Nikki?'_

Urgh, come on. COME ON! Get me out. GET ME OUT!

 _'Nikki, are you there?'_

Come on, please!

 _'What's happening, Nikki?'_

Shit, Jack! He's scared. Talk to him.

"I'm gonna get out of here, Jack!"

Urgh come ON!

'Like you told me.'

Because I'm already dying and I need to get out NOW!

 _'No, Nikki, wait. Please.'_

I'm sorry, sweetheart. I have too.

 _'Please, not yet. Not yet, wait!'_

I can't wait any longer, Jack. I'm only going to get weaker now.

Oh, please. PLEASE. Come on! I can do it! I can do it!

 _'Nikki? Are you there? What's happening?'_

Keep trying. Come on. I can do it.

 _'Nikki, are you there?'_

"I can't do it."

I'm too dehydrated - too weak. I've got nothing left.

I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry, darling.

"I'm not strong enough."

Well, that's it for me, then.

 _'Don't you give up, Nikki. Don't give up.'_

I'm already dying, sweetheart.

I'm sorry.

Leo.

It was Leo's case...I remember!

"Look at the pupae."

Leo.

"You only get this is cases of extreme contamination...industrial levels..."

 _'Nikki?'_

"Tetracynadine."

Not here - there was a scorpion. Not where I am then. I'm done.

But maybe I can save Luisa and the others. Maybe that's where they are, cos' they sure as hell aren't here and the Cartel DID take them, not Eva.

 _'What?'_

"Tetracynadine. Berricane. It's marketed under different names..."

But he won't go looking for it if he knows he's not looking for me. He won't be able to focus, especially if he knows he's already lost me.

Shit. I have to lie to him.

I have to give him false hope.

I'm sorry, Jack.

 _'What is?'_

"The chemical we found in Javier Rodriguez's liver. It's an industrial chemical. Find where they're using Tetracynadine, Jack. You'll find me.

I'm so sorry, my love.

Forgive me.


	18. Chapter 18

**Jack**

Shit, long walk! What am I going to do now?

How am I gonna find her?

What are they saying? I don't understand Spanish.

"What did they say?"

 _'It's amazing, Jack'_

What's amazing Eva? What?

 _'It's amazing! They were left by the side of the road 30 minutes ago.'_

Oh, God, it worked! Nikki, please!

 _'My baby'_

But where is MY baby?

Oh, please. PLEASE!

"Nikki?"

 _'It won't be long, Jack, I'm sure of it.. Luisa too! This is incredible.'_

Shit. Oh shit. What now? What do I do? I can't handle this! Shit. Shit!

I feel so sick. I'm actually going to be sick.. I did all that. I did what I was told and they freed OTHER PEOPLE!

Nikki, oh, Nikki. How do I get her back?

"They get El Buitre...then Ernesto walks free...Ernesto walks free..."

Shit. I don't think the Cartel took Nikki. She was asleep...jet-lagged.

Was it jet-lag?

Test the water.

Come on, come on, come on!

Pink. Positive!

Shit she was drugged, Nikki was DRUGGED!

Shit.

Eva.

Eva took her.

"EVA!"

Shit got to follow her! She knows where Nikki is.

"Eva, EVA! EVA!"

She's going to get Nikki!

I think.

Please!

Ring Gustavo.

 _'Jack, this doesn't make any sense!'_

Yes. It does!

"She made a deal with them, Gustavo! She gives them El Buitre, they give her her son back. I had access to the prisoner. She had to find a way to get me to do it. Don't you see?"

Ring Eva. Please pick up!

"Eva? Eva, are you there? Eva, stop! Please! I know what you did and I know why. Please, stop! Eva?"

 _'Nikki is ok.'_

"Tell me where she is, please!"

 _'I'm gonna make this right. It's all gonna be alright.'_

"Where is she Eva? Where did you bury her? She doesn't have much time!"

 _'I only did what I had to do.'_

"Eva, stop!"

 _'You think you know what it's like?'_

"Please, stop!"

I need to know where Nikki is!

Shit, what's that? What's happening?

"Eva? Eva?"

 _'NO!'_

Eva, what's happening?"

Shit!

"Eva? Eva! Oh, God. Eva? Eva, where is she? Oh, my God, Eva... EVA, WAKE UP AND TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

"Oh, Jesus...oh, Jesus..."

She's dead!

She was my only hop of finding Nikki and she's dead!

Got to talk to her. Nikki. Ring Nikki.

Shit what do I tell her, though?

"Nikki..."

How do I tell her? Oh, Nikki...

 _'Are they coming, Jack? I'm running out of air, I can feel it. I don't know how much more I can take.'_

Oh, God. Nikki!

"Nikki, listen...when you were with Eva, when you fell asleep in the car...do you remember exactly where you were?"

Please.

 _'Why are you asking me this? Aren't they...aren't they coming?'_

"Please. Did you see anything by the road. any landmarks, before you passed out?"

Please, baby, try.

 _'What do you mean 'passed out'?"_

Shit!

 _'I'm scared, Jack. What's happening? Pleas tell me the truth. I need the truth.'_

Ok, baby.

"It wasn't the Cartel who took you. It was Eva. To get Ernesto back."

 _'No. It was a man who called.'_

"Yeah, I've got her phone. There's an application on it that changes your voice. It costs like a dollar. Eva's dead, Nikki, They killed her."

And she was on her way to get you out, I think. Damn them. DAMN THEM!

"But we're coming to find you. Now that we know it was her that took you, we will find you."

Nikki? Shit. I think she's shivering. Hypothermia or something? It's hot out here but who knows in that bloody box? And she won't be able to move much in there. Then there's the lack of food, she's probably run out of water by now...and she's gone quiet...

"Nikki?"

Shit. Talk to me, darling. Please.

"Nikki?"

What's that? What's happening?

Shit, dehydration!

Oh, shit, what if she's having a fit or something? Shit! Nikki, please speak. Come on, sweetheart. Just say SOMETHING. Anything!

"Nikki, are you there? What's happening, Nikki?"

 _'I'm gonna get out of here, Jack!...'_

Thank God. She's ok.

 _'Like you told me.'_

Oh, shit! Not yet, darling, please.

'No, Nikki. Wait. Please."

Shit, stop.

"Please, not yet. Not yet. Wait."

Oh shit, she is.

"Nikki? Are you there? What's happening? Nikki, are you there?"

Shit, Nikki? Oh my God, I've killed her! I've killed my best friend!

 _'I can't do it.'_

Oh, Nikki.

 _'I'm not strong enough.'_

"Don't you give up, Nikki. Don't give up."

Don't you dare die on me, Nikki Alexander! Don't you dare!

 _'Look at the pupae...you only get this in cases of extreme contamination...industrial levels...'_

She's mumbling about contamination. Shit I think she's hallucinating or something. Shit!

"Nikki?"

She's not talking to me again! She's not talking to me! Answer, please!

 _'Tetracynadine'_

"What?"

 _'Tetracynadine. Berricane. It's marketed under different names.'_

"What is?"

 _'The chemical we found in Javier Rodriguez's liver. It's an industrial chemical. Find where there using_ _Tetracynadine, Jack. You'll find me."_

Oh good girl!

That's my Nikki! Still got fight in her!

 ***Back at the compound***

 _'There's one right here, here and here.'_

These are small-scale facilities! We are looking for something much bigger! This is a heavy duty chemical, it would have to be licensed, controlled..."

 _'like what?'_

"It used to be used in ore extraction. Mining."

 _'There's a copper mine, right here.'_

"That's too far! She wouldn't have had time to get Nikki there and get back."

 _'How can you be sure of that?'_

"I CAN'T! I can't be sure of anything!"

I don't have Nikki to calm me down.

Breathe. Focus.

She's suffering from dehydration. I need to find her NOW!

"What about manufacturing? Plastics. It was used in transmission fluid for the automobile industry, but they stopped..."

 _'What about old cars? Trucks? There's a scrap yard, right here, near Novelda. It's huge.'_

"It's inside the search area."

 _'I know the scrap yard.'_

Ernesto?

 _'Ernesto'_

 _'We went there. To Novelda.'_

"What?"

 _'It was years ago, I remeber. Her windsheid was cracked. So we went to find a new one. She knew_ the _guy.'_

"We know where you are, Nikki. We're coming to get you."

I've found her! I'm getting her back!

 _'Where Where is it?'_

"There's a scrap yard, the Tetracynadine, it's leaking out of old transmission units."

 _'Are you sure, Jack?'_

"The level of contamination we're talking about, there's only one possible site. The rumbling sounds you're hearing. There's a car crusher. It's the place. I'm sure of it."

I'm coming to get you baby.

"You're going to be home in London for the weekend. Forecast is for 8 degrees and drizzle."

 _'It sounds beautiful, Jack.'_

We're going home, darling.

We're going home.


	19. Chapter 19

**Jack**

 _'Open the gate'_

Come on, hurry up!

"Come on, come on!"

"We're here. Tell me if you can hear this...NIKKI! NIKKI!"

Please, please?

"Ok, stay with me, Stay with me."

Got to find her. I know she's here, somewhere.

"Stay with me. We're coming for you."

I'm coming to take you home. Any minute now.

"We're coming. Nikki! NIKKI!"

Just hold on, baby, hold on. Not long now.

Where is she? Where is she? Shit, this place is HUGE!

"NIKKI!"

Keep running! Don't stop until we find her.

Shit, why are they all meeting me in the middle? What the hell are you doing that for?!

Spread out, idiots! Spread out!

Shit!

"Can't...find...her..."

Wait. Machinery. Over there! Get back up, get back up!

"Ok...ok...Gustavo! Gustavo, over here!"

 _'Come on, push it!'_

"Push! Can you hear us, Nikki?"

 _'You're close. I know it.'_

Yes! I'm going to find you, darling. Shit, I can't wait.

"We're coming for you...come on!"

Quicker!

"We're coming, Nikki. Cover your eyes!"

And when you open them, I'll be there.

"Nikki!"

I'm going to see her again. Any minute now! I can hold her again. She'll be back in my arms where she belongs.

"Nikki? Nikki! Nikki?"

I don't see her yet. Where is she?

Breathe.

Any minute now. Any minute...

...What?

What?

WHAT?!

"Where are you?"

 _'Have you found them, Jack? Have you found them?'_

Shit. Where's my Nikki? I want my Nikki.

Oh, God, this can't be happening!

"You're not here."

 _'Are they alive, Jack?'_

"Yes, they're alive. But Nikki..."

Shit! She knew. She KNEW she wasn't here. She bloody knew all along!

"I don't understand."

I do actually. I wish I didn't, but I do.

I understand that she's chosen to save them instead of herself.

I understand that SHE made that choice for me. Because she knew I wouldn't. She knew I wouldn't sacrifice her.

"Oh, Nikki..."

You can't leave me here on my own.

She's so selfless. Of course she did this. Chose to save them at her own expense.

I should have known. I should have bloody known!

 _'Luisa. Is she there?'_

"What have you done?"

You've chosen to leave me. Go, Nikki. Don't you know how much I need you?

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

 _'_ _The Tetracynadine that was in Javier's body. It kills insects, any invertebrate life. But there was a_ _scorpion...'_

Shit. How could you, Nikki? I need my best friend.

 _'...so it's not where I am, but I'm glad.'_

GLAD? You left me here on my own and you're GLAD?! Shit Nikki. I'm no use without you!

"No, no, no! No, Nikki, no! You could've..."

Killed yourself by doing this! You bloody knew that and you did it anyway!

 _'How many are there, Jack?'_

God, I feel sick. I feel so sick!

"Oh, God... 20, 30"

 _'And their alive?'_

"Yes. THEY'RE ALIVE!"

But you're NOT HERE! How dare you trick me into 'killing' you, Nikki! How bloody dare you!

 _'Luisa. Is she alive?'_

"Yes, she's alive. She's with Gustavo now."

But this isn't right. That should be you and me.

You've chosen to leave me, Nikki. I didn't choose that! I would NEVER chose that!

I didn't make THIS choice.

I'm clutching at straws.

And they keep poking me in the eye.

"No. Wait, Wait, wait, wait. Wait, the air. The air should have..."

 _'It's ok. It's ok, Jack. Really. It's all gonna be ok.'_

"Nikki, I didn't tell you..."

Nikki, I didn't tell this, but you should have run out of air by now.

Shit. Her phone's died. Shit.

SHIT!

I've lost her! I've lost Nikki! Shit.

She told me it was ok. How the hell can it be 'ok'?!

I've lost the one person that mattered to me more than the whole world.

Oh, God!

 _'Jack, thank you for finding us...Jack, are you alright?'_

How the hell can I be alright?! Nikki's dead, Luisa!

"No, I'm not bloody 'alright'! I've lost my best friend!"

I've lost her.

"I'VE LOST NIKKI!"

I can't cope with this. I can't.

I need my best friend. She can't be dead. She just CAN'T!

SHE CAN'T!


	20. Chapter 20

**Nikki**

I'm sorry, darling, for what I'm about to do to you.

I'm gonna miss you so much, not being with you.

Will I though, if I'm dead?

I hope one day, you will forgive me for this.

I hope one day you will understand.

 _'We know where you are, Nikki. We're coming to get you.'_

I wish you were, but you're not. I'm so sorry, Jack.

"Where? Where is it?"

 _'There's a scrap yard. The Tetracynadine, it's leaking out of old transmission units.'_

"Are you sure, Jack?"

Because I need you to be sure. I need you to find the others. It's the only consolation for what I'm doing to you.

 _'This level of contamination we're talking about, there's only one possible site. The rumbling sounds_ _you're hearing. There's a car crusher. It's the place. I'm sure of it...'_

Oh, Jack...he's sounds kind of excited about getting me back.

 _'You're going to be in London for the weekend. Forecast is for 8 degrees and drizzle.'_

"Sounds beautiful, Jack."

Shit. He's going to be distraught when he works out what I've done.

What am I doing to him?

My poor baby.

 _'We're here. Tell me if you can hear this?...Ok, stay with me...stay with me...'_

Oh, I'm so tired.

Poor Jack, he's desperate to find me.

 _'Stay with me...we're coming for you.'_

I'm sorry, baby.

 _'Stay with me...we're coming for you.'_

I'm sorry, baby.

 _'We're coming, Nikki. NIKKI!...can't find...her...'_

No, don't give up, Jack. Come on, darling. I need you to find them.

You can do it!

 _'Ok, ok...Gustavo! Gustavo, over here!'_

He's found something! Come on, Jack!

 _'Push!'_

Oh, they're trying so hard. Please!

 _'Can you hear us, Nikki?'_

"You're close. I know it!"

Just on the other end of the phone.

 _'We're coming for you! Come on!'_

Shit. He's going to work it out any minute. I'm so, so sorry.

 _'We're coming, Nikki. Cover your eyes!'_

Please let him find them. He's going to be distraught!

Let him find them for his sake.

 _'Nikki! Nikki? Nikki...Nikki?'_

It's coming. The big shock, when he realises I've deliberately tricked him.

I'm so sorry for this, Jack. If I had any other choice...

But I didn't and I'm so sorry for what it's going to do to you.

I think they've found them.

 _'Where are you?'_

Oh, Jack! He sounds confused. Distraught. Desperate.

And terrified.

"Have you found them, Jack? Have you found them?"

Any moment now.

Any moment he's going to work it out.

He's going to work out what I've done and it's going to hurt like hell.

 _'You're not here?'_

Oh, God, Jack...

"Are they alive, Jack?"

Don't focus on what you're losing. Focus on what you've saved.

I never realised that it would hurt me this much too.

 _'Yes, they're alive. But Nikki...'_

I know, Jack, I'm sorry.

 _'I don't understand...'_

You do, but you don't want to understand...

 _'Oh, Nikki...'_

"Luisa. Is she there?"

 _'What have you done?'_

Here it comes. He's angry. Let him be angry, if it protects his breaking heart.

 _'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?'_

"The Tetracynadine that was in Javier's body. It kills insects, any invertebrate life...But there was a scorpion...so it's not where I am, but I'm glad."

Because you found THEM.

I didn't die for nothing.

 _'No, no, no. No, Nikki, no. You could've...'_

I know Jack, but I'm dying anyway.

"How many are there?"

 _'Oh, God...20, 30'_

"And their alive?"

 _'Yes, they're alive.'_

"Luisa?"

 _'Yes, she's alive. She's with Gustavo now.'_

I did what I came here to do.

I found Luisa.

 _'No, wait. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, the air. The air should have...'_

"It's ok. It's ok, Jack. Really. It's all going to be ok."

It's really NOT ok. Because I've hurt him so much.

I've hurt Jack.

 _'Nikki, I didn't tell you...'_

Shit. He's gone. I didn't even say 'Goodbye'. I didn't get to tell him that I love him. I'm gonna die and he's got to live with the fact that I tricked him into saving them instead of me. He's got to live with the pain I've left him in.

It's a cruel punishment that he doesn't deserve.

It's my punishment too, though and it hurts more than I ever thought anything could.

Because I get to die knowing that the last time I ever spoke to the man I love;

I broke his heart.


	21. Chapter 21

**Jack**

Oh, Nikki! Have I lost you? I can't bear it. I can't.

 **#** _It's been a long time girl, but I'll keep on waiting_ **#**

She still had air though. Wait. What?

My phones ringing again.

What?

 **#** _I'll keep waiting till that day when  
You come back on home to me  
Life's too short to live without you  
Where you are is where I wanna be _**#**

"Hello?"

 _'Jack. What's happening? Any news? I'm in Mexico. Just left the airport.'_

 **#** _Hey girl, it's just a matter of time  
Before you come on home and I get what's mine  
Cos you know that you're still my lady  
And your love is gonna drive me crazy _**#**

"No. Wait. Thomas, shut up. I need to think. Ernesto, here. Talk to Thomas. Let me concentrate."

 **#** _To think you're gone just makes me wanna choke  
You can't fix what you know you ain't broke  
But I guess that I'll just keep waiting  
Even though inside my heart is breaking _**#**

Ok, breathe.

Air. She still had air.

Eva took her. Not the Cartel.

Eva would have put her somewhere I could find her. Somewhere that meant something to her.

Nikki's still got air.

So maybe not underground? But still buried in earth. In a box in earth.

Think.

What did Nikki say?

She tasted iron.

And salt.

And she heard machinery of some kind.

 **#** _What you waitin' for?  
What you waitin for, girl?  
Show me love like you did before _**#**

"Ernesto, I need you. Give the phone to Gustavo. Tell him to talk to Thomas. We're busy."

 **#** _I'll keep waiting till that day when  
You come back on home to me  
Life's too short to live without you  
Where you are is where I wanna be _**#**

 _'Gustavo, talk to Thomas. How can I help, Jack?'_

 **#** _All this love's too much to understand  
Must be part of a master plan  
But I wish that it was just that easy  
Cos I miss the way you touch and tease me _**#**

"That place you're digging. It's on the coast, right?"

 _'Cajitas? Yeah.'_

 **#** _Damn it girl why can't you see  
It's not over for you and me  
One day you'll see that you were wrong  
Then you will realise I was gonna find you all along _**#**

"And you're using machinery there?"

 _'Yes.'_

 **#** _Dry these tears of rain  
Dry these tears of rain  
Say you'll show me love again _**#**

"Come on. We have to go. I think I know where she is."

She has to be there.

"Ernesto, can you give directions?"

 **#** _I'll keep waiting till that day when  
You come back on home to me  
Life's too short to live without you  
Where you are is where I wanna be _**#**

"Gustavo, I need you to drive. Give the phone to Luisa!"

 _'Here Luisa, talk to Thomas._

Quick! We need to go quickly! Quicker than that! Find Nikki.

Nothing else matters!

 _'Thomas said he'll meet us there.'_

 **#** _What can I say to change your mind  
Thinkin' about you all of the time  
Don't keep me holding on  
Come back to where you belong_

 _I'll keep waiting till that day when  
You come back on home to me  
Life's too short to live without you  
Where you are is where I wanna be _**#**

With you is where I want to be.


	22. Chapter 22

**Nikki**

 _'Nikki, I didn't tell you...'_

He was trying to tell me something.

He said something about air.

But he's gone. My Jack is gone.

I'll never get to tell him now. How much he meant to me.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Hold on to me love  
You know I can't stay long  
All I wanted to say was  
I love you and I'm not afraid_

Hold on to me, always.

I'll never let go.

I'll always be there holding you.

In your dreams.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Can you hear me?  
Can you feel me in your arms_

Cos' I'm always there in your arms.

Even when I'm not.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Holding my last breath  
Safe inside myself  
Are all my thoughts of you  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight_.

I never thought it would end like this.

I always assumed, ever since I met you.

That we would die on the same day.

Probably old age.

Because we've been through so much and always come out the other side.

Pulled each other through.

It never occurred to me that one of us would leave the other behind.

I assumed we'd move on.

To whatever comes next, together.

It seemed inevitable.

 _Singing softly:_

 _I'll miss the winter  
A world of fragile things  
Look for me in the white forest  
Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me_)

I'll always be there, everywhere you go.

In the trees.

In snowflakes and the rain.

In the sunrays and the stars in the night sky.

Even in the wind.

Every time you go to a crime scene, I'll be there.

Watching over you

 _Singing softly:_

 _I know you hear me,  
I can taste it in your tears_.

I'm not going to tell you not to cry.

I'm crying too, so you cry as much as you need too.

But you will always feel me here.

I won't leave you.

Spiritually, I won't leave you

 _Singing softly:_

 _Holding my last breath  
Safe inside myself  
Are all my thoughts of you  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight._

I'll be your lucky charm.

Your inner strength.

I'll never let you stumble.

I'll never let you fall.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Closing your eyes to disappear  
You pray your dreams will leave you here_

With me in your arms.

 _Singing softly:_

 _But still you wake and know the truth -  
No one's there._

All you have to do is close your eyes.

And I will be with you.

Whenever you need.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Say goodnight, don't be afraid  
Calling me, calling me, as you fade to black._

We'll say 'hello' again.

Every time you dream.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Holding my last breath  
(Don't be afraid) Safe inside myself  
(Holding me) Are all my thoughts of you?  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight._

Everybody dies in the end.

It's harder for the ones left behind.

That's why I'm staying with you.

Around you.

In all your dreams.

 _Singing softly:_

 _Holding my last breath  
Safe inside myself  
Are all my thoughts of you?  
Sweet raptured light,  
It ends here tonight._

Clarissa and Thomas, I'm relying on you to get him through this.

Please keep him safe.

"Star light, star bright,

The last star I saw, in this life,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Grant my last ever wish, tonight."


	23. Chapter 23

**Jack**

She's in here, I know she is. SHE HAS TO BE...

"Come on, DIG!"

Come on, come ON!

 _'There in there.'_

 _'Nikki?'_

 _'We're don't know yet. There's not much room in there. Jack and Ernesto are digging.'_

 _'Oh, God, I can't believe this is happening!''_

You and me both Thomas.

Come ON!

 _'Got something!'_

"What is it? Ernesto, what IS IT?"

 _'A box. A wooden box.'_

Oh, PLEASE!

"Please, please PLEASE! NIKKI, ARE YOU IN THERE? NIKKI?"

Nothing.

Either she's not in there or I'm too late.

 _'Mate, if she's in there, she could just be asleep.'_

Or unconscious.

Oh shit, please let her be ok.

 _'Stand back'_

Well, if she's in there and awake she must be terrified by the noise. If she was awake, she'd be screaming again.

Please scream, Nikki. I don't want you to be frightened but I need to know you're alive.

 _'Move the wood'_

Oh, my God. That's her hand! Nikki's hand! Thank God, but please don't be dead, please don't be dead...

 _'GUSTAVO, THOMAS SHE'S HERE!'_

 _'IS SHE ALIVE? ERNESTO, IS SHE ALIVE?!'_

 _'DON'T KNOW. JACK'S TRYING TO FIND OUT.'_

Oh, please, come on, Nikki. Her hand's so cold. So still.

"Nikki? Nikki? It's me, Jack. I've found you. Please, darling wake up, come on, say something."

Nothing.

Oh, please, Plea...

Oh God I think she squeezed my hand. I think she did. Come on, please...

"Nikki?"

 _'Jack...'_

"Oh, thank God, Nikki. I thought I was too late."

 _'Jack, please get me out, please.'_

Come on, pull her arms gently, push away the box. Her head's out. She's looking at me with those lovely brown eyes! Oh, hello, darling!

 _'Jack, water? need...water'_

 _'GUSTAVO, THOMAS, SHE'S ALIVE...'_

 _'OH, THANK GOD!'_

 _'WATER, GIVE ME SOME WATER!'_

 _'Here, Jack.'_

Alright, you're going to be ok now, darling. I've got you.

"Here you go, love. Slowly. Easy does it. That better?"

 _'Better! Thanks. I'm ok now.'_

She's holding on to me so tightly.

 _'I knew you'd find me.'_

She's crying. Oh, my Nikki. I've got you back.

 _'I thought I was never going to see you again.'_

Oh, shit, I'm crying too!

"I thought...I...was too...late!"

 _'I thought it was too late too!'_

"You...sent me to... the WRONG PLACE!"

 _'I know...I know...I'm so sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry!'_

I'm holding here tightly now too. I am NOT letting go. EVER!

I'm not letting you out of my sight!

"Can you stand?"

 _'Yeah, I think so.'_

She's trying, but her legs are stiff from being in there for so long. And she's still quite weak.

Her legs are trying to buckle. I can feel her leaning against me for support.

"Whoa, careful. you're ok. Steady, darling, you haven't used them for a while."

 _'Oh, light headed!'_

She hasn't eaten for hours. Neither have I now I think about it.

"Thomas is just outside. Then we'll see about getting you something to eat... ok, love?"

She's nodding.

I better shied her eyes as we go out I think - the sunlight is bound to shock her when she's been in the dark for so long.

"Ok? Slowly, slowly - let your eyes adjust, Nikki. They're not used to the light. ok?, now"

 _'Yeah, I'm ok.'_

She's blinking a bit as her eyes adjust.

 _'Thomas!'_

Aw, she's giving him such a big hug!

 _'I'm so glad to see you, alive and well, Nikki!'_

 _'Me too, Thomas! Jack, come here.'_

She's pulled my arms back around her.

She's obviously not letting me out of her sight either!

 _'I'll ring Clarissa.'_

 _'Thomas, can you do me a favour and book our flights home, please? As soon as possible. I don't care_ _if we have to travel all night. I just want to go home.'_

 _'Ok.'_

"That's the best thing I've ever heard you say."

 _'Well you promised me we'd be back home for the weekend, didn't you, Jack? So let's go!'_

She's smiling at me.

I never thought I'd see that smile again.

It warms my heart.

We'll go back to the compound, pack, grab a sandwich and she'll probably want a shower after being stuck in the mud! And then we'll be heading to the airport.

"We're going home, Nikki. We're going home."

She's squeezing my hand.

 _'Jack?...'_

"Yeah...?"

 _'Do you know something?'_

"What?"

 _'You owe me pizza!'_


End file.
